COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team dropped a 99-56 decision at Missouri (3-0) on Tuesday night. Chattanooga (2-2) fell victim to Missouri’s press along with a record performance from three-point range.
DeAntre Jefferson came off the bench to lead the Mocs with 12 points in 17 minutes. He was the lone double-digit scorer on the evening.
Missouri was led by Kim English and his game-high 26 points including five of the Tigers’ Mizzou Arena record 18 three-pointers. Mizzou also set a school record with 24 steals in forcing 29 Mocs turnovers.
The Tigers got off to a phenomenal start shooting and pressuring the Mocs into mistakes. Mizzou converted 16 first-half Mocs turnovers into 28 points. It also hit an amazing 12 three-pointers in 22 attempts in surging to the 59-28 halftime lead. English scored 21 of his game-high 26 in the first half.
The Mocs battled but could not overcome the turnovers coupled with the Tigers hot hand from outside. For the game, Mizzou score 51 points off the 29 Mocs miscues. Chattanooga did out-score the Tigers in the paint 30-24.
The road show continues for the Mocs as they head to South Padre Island, Texas for the tournament portion of the invitational. Chattanooga matches up with Texas-Pan American in the first round at 3:30 p.m. (EST) on Friday. The loser plays at 12:30 p.m. (EST) on Saturday against Friday’s loser between Bethune-Cookman and Longwood, while the winners play for the bracket title at 3 p.m.
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