Oral Roberts Golden Eagles vs Missouri Tigers Match Player Stats On Dec 07, 2018

Sophomore guard Mark Smith scored 14 points as one of six Missouri players in double digits, and the Tigers cruised to an 80-64 victory over Oral Roberts on Friday night in nonconference play at Columbia, Mo.

Senior guard Jordan Geist, senior forward Kevin Puryear, sophomore forward Jeremiah Tilmon and freshman guard Torrence Watson each scored 12 points for the Tigers (6-3). Freshman guard Xavier Pinson added 11 to help Missouri win its third straight game.

Junior forward Emmanuel Nzekwesi scored 17 points for Oral Roberts (3-9). Freshman forward D.J. Weaver scored 14 points and junior guard Aidan Saunders added 12 points for the Golden Eagles.

The Tigers made 12 of 26 shots from 3-point range with Watson draining all four of his attempts and Pinson and Smith making three apiece. Overall, Missouri shot 48.1 percent from the field.

Oral Roberts shot 39.7 percent from the field and was 7 of 21 from behind the arc. The Golden Eagles have lost three consecutive games.

Missouri began to pull away when Geist scored five points in four seconds during a 10-0 second-half burst.

Nzekwesi's layup pulled Oral Roberts within 40-38 with 14:12 left before Watson knocked down a 3-pointer.

Geist followed by scoring on a fastbreak layup with 13:03 remaining. He then stole the inbounds pass from senior guard Kaelen Malone and scored a basket, was fouled and converted the ensuing free throw.

Tilmon finished the run with a layup to give the Tigers a 50-38 advantage with 12:24 left.

Saunders drained a 3-pointer for Oral Roberts before Missouri answered with 10 more points in a row. Freshman guard Javon Pickett and Pinson ended that burst with 3-pointers to make it 60-41 with 9:22 left.

Smith's 3-pointer increased the lead to 20 at 63-43 with 8:29 remaining.

The lead topped out at 29 points.

Smith scored nine first-half points to help the Tigers to a 33-26 halftime lead.

Smith's layup gave Missouri a 17-8 lead with 10:25 left before Oral Roberts rattled off the next seven points.

The Golden Eagles trailed 22-21 after a basket by sophomore forward Emir Ahmedic with 4:19 remaining before the Tigers went on an 11-3 run. Watson and Smith hit consecutive 3-pointers to give Missouri a 33-24 lead.

--Field Level Media