COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — T.O. Barrett scored a career-best 28 points and Mark Mitchell added 23 to help Missouri beat No. 22 Tennessee 73-69 on Tuesday night.
Trent Burns had seven rebounds and four steals off the bench for the Tigers (19-9, 9-6 Southeastern Conference), who improved to 3-1 at home this season against AP Top 25 opponents and 18-1 when scoring at least 73 points.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 19 points, Nate Ament had 17 and Felix Okpara added 15 points and eight rebounds for Tennessee (20-8, 10-5), which had won four consecutive games and eight of the past nine.
Tennessee outrebounded Missouri 42-30 but scored just 20 second-chance points despite grabbing 18 offensive boards. It was the sixth time a ranked Volunteers team lost to an unranked opponent this season.
Bishop Boswell hit a layup with 4 seconds left to cut Missouri’s lead to 71-69, but Jacob Crews made two free throws on the other end to seal the win.
The teams exchanged leads in the second half before Trent Pierce hit a 3-pointer with 10:37 remaining to give the Tigers a 48-45 advantage they did not relinquish.
Barrett dunked to finish a 14-3 run that gave Missouri a 26-24 lead with 1:07 left in the first half before Gillespie scored five straight points to close the period.
Ament drained a 3 with 16:28 remaining in the first half to cap a 10-0 run that put the Volunteers ahead 12-2.
Up next
Tennessee hosts No. 17 Alabama on Saturday night.
Missouri plays at Mississippi State on Saturday.
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David Solomon, The Associated Press
