Mizzou wheelchair basketball had two games on Friday, and they were ready and energized to play. They haven’t played in 699 days due to Covid. They had a tough task right off the jump, having to play the University of Texas-Arlington, the reigning 2021 National Champions. Once the game tipped off, the Tigers were not rusty at all, knocking down shots left and right. 

Mizzou controlled the first half from start to finish, forcing the Mavericks to adjust and try and grab some of the momentum away from the Tigers. They eventually did, finding a way to get back in the game and trailing by only two at the half.

Mizzou Coach and USA Men’s wheelchair basketball coach Ron Lykins loved how aggressive his team is playing early in the game. Junior Colin Higgins was an explosive offensive juggernaut, scoring 26 points, along with starring on defense early in the game.

In the second half, UTA played a very well-balanced game, taking care of the basketball and capitalizing off Mizzou’s turnovers. UTA was too much for the Tigers to handle down the stretch of the game, outscoring Mizzou 43-31 and prevailing 73-63. 

The Second Game 

Mizzou took on Auburn and both teams were battling back and forth early in the first half. Mizzou, like in the first game, found a way to succeed early, and were up 36-31 at the half. Mizzou’s Colin Higgins had another breakout game, scoring 36 points in Mizzou’s victory. 

The second half was a slugfest, with both teams trading buckets back and forth. Then, late in the half, Auburn took a one point lead off a three by freshman Jake Eastwood with 6:45 left in the game. Eastwood did all he could to make his imprint in this game, but it wasn’t enough, even though he scored 19 points. The Tigers found a way to not get overwhelmed and out of sync, finding a way to out edge Auburn in the final five minutes, outscoring them 16-11. Mizzou won 74-68. 

Senior Eric Rodriguez had 16 points, freshman Lee Melymick had 12 points, and Zach Steger had 10 points.