[March 19, 2014]
COLUMBIA,
Mo. —
Missouri 85, Davidson 77: Jabari
Brown had 30 points as the Tigers rallied for a home win in the first
round of the NIT.
Earnest Ross added 16 points and six rebounds and Jordan Clarkson
had 15 points for second-seeded Missouri (23-11). The Tigers, who
will play the winner of Wednesday's No. 3 Southern Mississippi-No. 6
Toledo game in the second round, shot 60.9 percent from the floor in
the second half while erasing a double-digit deficit.
De'Mon Brooks led seventh-seeded Davidson (20-13) with a career-high
29 points and seven rebounds. Tyler Kalinoski hit four 3-pointers on
the way to 16 points and Chris Czerapowicz added 10 points.
Missouri scored seven straight points to tie the game at 29 with
just over five minutes left in the first half but Davidson scored
the next five points and Czerapowicz beat the buzzer with a
transition 3-pointer for a 41-37 halftime lead. The Wildcats then
used a 13-4 run — getting a pair of 3-pointers from Kalinoski — to
build a 54-41 lead just over three minutes into the second half.
The Tigers cut the lead to six while Brooks was on the bench with
foul trouble and Johnathan Williams III put Missouri ahead 69-67
with a three-point play with 6:05 left. The Tigers hit four of their
next five shots to stretch the lead out to 81-74 with about 80
seconds left.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Brown moved into third place on Missouri's
single-season list with 209 made free throws and trails Bryon Irvin
(1988-89) by five. ... Missouri coach Frank Haith won his 200th
career game (200-138 overall and 71-27 at Missouri) while the Tigers
won an NIT game for just the second time (2-7). ... Davidson hit
9-of-29 3-pointers and attempted 21 fewer free throws than the host
Tigers.
