Honor’s 3-pointers lift Missouri past MS State in OT

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Graduate student Nick Honor hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 7.6 seconds left in overtime to lift the Missouri men’s basketball team to a 66-64 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday night. The Tigers improve to 20-8 on the season and 8-7 in SEC play, while Mississippi State drops to 18-10 and 6-9 in conference action.

The back-and-forth affair saw the game’s most exciting action saved for the final minutes of the extra session. After two, senior forward Noah Carter sank a three to go up 63-62 with 51 seconds to play. The Bulldogs countered on their next possession with a jumper in the lane to take the lead, 64-63, with 20.5 ticks remaining.

Honor, however, answered for the Tigers. The point guard brought the ball up the back of the court by one, pulled it up from beyond the arc and laid down the biggest shot of Mizzou’s career for the go-ahead basket with less than eight seconds remaining. The Tigers then responded with the biggest stop of the game on the defensive end to secure a 66-64 victory in front of 12,014 fans at Mizzou Arena.

Senior forward Kobe Brown led the Tigers with 17 points – his 21st time in double figures this season. Graduate guard D’Moi Hodge finished behind Brown with 16, while classmate Tre Gomillion posted a season-best 10 rebounds with eight points.

The opening half featured a back-and-forth contest between the two clubs, with Hodge (13 points), Brown (seven points) and Carter (seven points) leading Missouri with big shots to keep the Tigers on pace with the Bulldogs. The Tigers’ aggressive defense also kept the score close, forcing Mississippi State into seven turnovers. Overall, the first 20 minutes of action featured 12 total lead changes before the Bulldogs headed into the locker room with a 34-31 edge.

The second half was a similar story, with the Tigers defense shouting down the Bulldogs in the final minutes. MU held Mississippi State to nearly seven minutes without a field goal — the longest defensive stretch of the game. No team will lead with more than six points all game as two free throws with less than 10 seconds left by Mississippi State tied the match. The Tigers couldn’t close out the win in regulation but Honor would be the hero in overtime – scoring six of his 10 points on the day in the extra frame.

Missouri shot 40.4 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from 3-point range – connecting in its final two games. The Tigers also held the Bulldogs to 36.7 percent shooting (including only 25.9 percent in the second half) while forcing 14 turnovers and grabbing 11 steals.

UP NEXT

The Tigers will hit the road for another SEC game against Georgia on Saturday in Athens, Georgia. The game will tip off at noon CT on the SEC Network.