Missouri pulls away from Jacksonville State with late run

Mark Mitchell scored 18 points as Missouri avoided an upset bid on Tuesday night, defeating Jacksonville State 83-72 in Columbia, Mo.

Mitchell, who played a team-high 34 minutes, was 6-of-12 from the field and 6-of-9 at the free-throw line, scoring 10 points over the final 20 minutes. Missouri (10-1) shot 50 percent from the field and went 12-of-25 from beyond the arc, making 10 or more 3-pointers for the second straight contest.

Jacksonville State (6-5), led by Jaron Pierre Jr.'s 18 points, kept pace with the Tigers for much of the contest, but faded down the stretch. The Gamecocks made just one of their final nine shots, a stark contrast to Missouri, who was 6-of-8 in that span.

After a back-and-forth 15 minutes of the second half, which saw neither side lead by more than five, Mason Nicholson threw down a dunk and thrusted Jacksonville State to a 68-67 lead with 5:59 left. But the Gamecocks hit a 3-minute, 47-second scoring drought as Missouri surged down the stretch.

The Tigers went on a 13-0 run, highlighted by a trio of 3-pointers from Jacob Crews, the last of which put Missouri in front 80-68 with 2:39 left. That spurt sealed the Tigers' win as they improved to 10-0 at home this season.

Pierre Jr. led Jacksonville State's early surge, scoring four points as part of the Gamecocks' game-opening 7-0 run. After Missouri cut the deficit to 9-8 by the 15:34 mark, Pierre answered with a 3-pointer, extending the lead again. The back-and-forth nature of the opening half saw the margin never widened beyond seven, though Missouri trailed for the first 12-plus minutes.

Trent Pierce gave the Tigers a 24-23 advantage just seconds after teammate Tony Perkins stole a bad pass, turning heads-up defense into a prime scoring opportunity with 7:15 left.

The lead changed hands three times over the final 4:32, as Missouri led 41-40 at the half. Pierre scored JSU's final seven points, hitting a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left to make it a one-possession game.

--Field Level Media