COLUMBIA, Mo. ? Jerryck Owens-Murrey scored a team-high 12 points as Western Illinois fell 91-52 on the road to Missouri, Sunday at the Mizzou Arena.
The Tigers (5-1) opened up the game with a 15-2 run, over the first 5:33, that was completed by a three-pointer from Stefhon Hannah. After Nikola Bodic sank a jumper for Western, the Leathernecks (2-3) would not get any closer as Hannah answered with another trey to extend Mizzou's lead to 18-4.
Western did not help its cause in the first half by shooting just 7-of-27 (26%) from the floor, and 1-of-7 (14%) from beyond the arc. Mizzou countered by shooting 18-of-32 (56%) overall, which included 6-of-7 on three-pointers, to take a 50-17 lead at the break.
The second half proved to be more productive for the Leathernecks on offense. Western more than doubled its offensive output of the first half. Josh Rivers provided five second-half points off the bench and finished the game with seven total.
As a team, Western improved its shooting by going 14-of-30 (47%) from the field in the second half. However, Missouri continued its hot shooting in the final frame hitting half its shots (17-of-34, 50%).
“We were able to move the ball better, reverse it, learn from some of our mistakes and create some open shots (in the second half),” said Western Illinois head coach Derek Thomas. “We made a little run midway through the half and they put five more talented guys out on the court. They substituted against allowing us to get back into the game.”
The Tigers finished the game 35-of-66 (53%) from the floor, while the Leathernecks first half shooting woes kept its overall percentage at 37% (21-of-57). Mizzou won the battle of the boards by a slight margin at 39-35, as David DuBois grabbed a team-high 10 for Western. The Leathernecks, however, struggled to take care of the ball, turning it over 21 times, which converted to 30 points for the Tigers.
David Nurse joined Owens-Murrey in double figured for Western with 11 points. It was the fourth game Nurse has scored in double-digits this season.
Derek Thomas post-game quotes:
“Our turnovers were the key to the game,” said Thomas. “We got rattled early and didn't handle the pressure very well and as a result we missed layups and free throws.”
“We won't face another team like this one. Different styles hurt different teams and we did not react like the team I've seen the last two weeks. Our defense played a solid game, but our turnovers allowed Missouri to get a lot of layups and dunks.”
“We can't get too down on ourselves. We have a pivotal home game next week. We just need to get back to playing like ourselves and put this one behind us.”
