KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Since the arrival of Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City sports fans have become accustomed to shootouts. They saw another on Sunday between Missouri men’s basketball and Seton Hall; unfortunately for the many Mizzou fans in attendance, their team didn’t come out on top, as Seton Hall took down the Tigers 93-87 at the T-Mobile Center.
It was the first game Mizzou has played in Kansas City in four years, and the teams entered play on different notes. The Tigers just recently broke a win streak in their previous matchup against Kansas, while the Pirates just ended a losing streak in their last game against Monmouth.
The Tigers started off slow, shooting 0/4 from the field; eventually, however, they found their groove. Tamar Bates scored eight of Mizzou’s first 10 points as they took a 10-8 lead over the Pirates just over five minutes into the game.
“The team needed more from me, whether that was defensively or offensively, and I just let the game come to me,” Bates said. “I didn’t force too much.”
Mizzou continued to pour it on, connecting on six consecutive field goals to take a 16-10 lead before the Pirates splashed back-to-back triples to tie the game back up. Seton Hall then built a 28-21 lead on the back of an 18-5 run with 6:30 left in the half.
“If you look at the course of the scouting reports, they’ve not shot the ball that well, especially in the first half, and I thought they did a good job,” Mizzou head coach Dennis Gates said .
With about four minutes to go, Mizzou cut back into their lead when a shoving match ensued. Seton Hall’s Dylan Addae-Wusu was issued a technical as part of the skirmish, and the teams would go back and forth until halftime, where the Pirates maintained a slim 42-38 lead.
Seton Hall started out the second half ablaze, as they went on a 13-3 run out of the gate to build a 55-41 lead.
“This team relies on driving very physical drives as it relates to their offense. Being able to get downhill, they made some tough paint shots, really good paint shots,” Gates said. “I credit those guys for making the plays.”
The game hovered around that difference until the 9:00 mark, when Mizzou cut the lead to 65-54. However, the optimism was short-lived, as the Pirates extended their lead to 75-56 thanks in part to a 7-0 run. Despite feeling as though all hope was lost, the Tigers started to claw back, going on a 14-1 run of their own to cut the lead to six with 3:09 to go. Despite keeping it close the rest of the way, Mizzou was never able to take the lead, as Seton Hall continued to shoot the lights out as part of a 33/56 night from the field. The Pirates forced the Tigers to foul a lot down the stretch, and they buried enough free throws to claim the victory, 93-87.
Seton Hall ended the game with all five starters in double-digits;two of them scored 20+. In total, the Pirates combined to shoot 10/23 from three-point range including a 4/6 night from beyond the arc for Dylan Addae-Wusu.
“They were consistently making five threes a game on average,” Gates said. “Their players made plays, and they ended up with ten threes on the game.”
The Tigers were led in scoring by Tamar Bates, who ended with 22 points, while Sean East II provided 16 of his own.
Missouri will look to snap their losing skid on Dec. 22 as they take on the Fighting Illini, while Seton Hall will head home to play UConn on Dec. 20.