Mizzou Basketball (10-16, 3-10) established a lead early and sank clutch free throws in the game's final minutes on its way to 72-67 victory over South Carolina (21-5, 8-5), Tuesday at Mizzou Arena. Senior forward Ryan Rosburg (Chesterfield, Mo.) continued his incredible late season run, leading the team with 18 points, the fourth-straight game of 17 or more points for the Tigers' lone senior.
Rosburg was a menace in the paint all night, getting to the free throw line a career-high 17 times. One of Rosburg's eight makes from the line proved to be the game-winning basket as he drilled a foul shot with 1:22 remaining to put the Tigers up, 68-67.
Five different Tigers finished with double-digit scoring figures, the second occurrence this season and first in SEC play this year.
Freshman guard Terrence Phillips (Orange County, Calif.) contributed 15 points and led the team in assists with four. Phillips and sophomore guard Namon Wright (Los Angeles, Calif.) led the team in rebounding with seven boards, each. Phillips matched his season-high in rebounding after posting a season-high seven boards in Saturday's win over Tennessee.
Joining Rosburg and Phillips in double figures were Wright with 11, followed by sophomore guard Tramaine Isabell (Seattle, Wash.) and freshman guard K.J. Walton (Indianapolis, Ind.) both scoring 10. Walton sunk a layup off of a sweet pass from Phillips with 0:35 remaining in the game to give the Tigers a 70-67 advantage.
The Tigers played lock-down defense early in the first half, limiting the Gamecocks to 13.6 percent shooting (3-of-22) in the first 11 minutes of the game. Junior forward Russell Woods (Chicago, Ill.) provided the defensive spark for the Tigers, rejecting a layup attempt from South Carolina's Laimonas Chatkevicius to finish off one of the many stout defensive possessions.
The second half saw Mizzou answer every push from South Carolina. Rosburg collected 12 of his 18 points in the second half, shooting 3-of-3 from the field and 6-of-9 from the free throw line.
Defense played a huge factor down the stretch in securing the Tigers' second-straight victory. The Tigers held South Carolina 1-of-4 shooting from the field in the final two minutes, while converting 4-of-7 shots from the free throw line over the final 120 seconds to secure the win.
The Tigers will look for their third consecutive win on Saturday, Feb. 20, when Mizzou visits Arkansas. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. from Bud Walton Arena and will be televised on the SEC Network.
