Kobe Brown couldn’t afford to be careless.
The Tigers’ senior forward was whistled for his first foul just over three minutes into Sunday’s game against Southeast Missouri State inside Mizzou Arena. He knew getting called for another would mean spending the rest of the first half on the bench — again.
Brown is a naturally physical player, so he had to focus in on avoiding unnecessary contact. He managed to stay on the floor, playing a season-high 34 minutes and leading his team to a 96-89 victory over the Redhawks.
“I just had to play smart, really,” Brown said.
In Missouri’s last game, an 88-84 overtime road win against Wichita State on Tuesday, Brown played just four minutes in the first half before picking up his second foul. He fell out of rhythm staying on the bench and didn’t play up to his own standards when he came back in the second half.
As the game went down to the wire, Brown suggested to head coach Dennis Gates it might be better to keep him off the floor.
“There was a point in that last game where I told Coach myself, like, the group we had out there was doing really well,” Brown said. “So I'm like, 'We might have to stay there.' And you know, ultimately, it's his decision. But I was perfectly fine with cheering from the sidelines.”
The groups that were doing really well on Sunday featured Brown, though. He came out fiery against SEMO, daring defenders to stand in his way while thundering to the rim. Brown had 13 points as the Tigers set up for their final possession of the first half. Senior point guard Nick Honor found him at the top of the key and Brown drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give his team a 50-40 lead heading into the locker room.
The visitors never let the game slip away and sliced the deficit down to single digits at times late in the second half. But the hosts kept leaning on Brown, who provided another nine points to finish the night with 25 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
"It was great to see him display what he can do," Gates said. "I thought he stayed aggressive throughout the game."
Another 20-point scorer
Senior point guard Sean East II was a member of the group that closed out the win against the Shockers earlier in the week. He picked up where he left off on Sunday, hanging 21 points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals. He becomes the sixth player on Missouri’s roster to score 20 or more points in a game.
SEMO took a one-point lead with 2:08 left in the first half. East helped turn the tide, scoring the Tigers’ next two baskets and sparking an 11-0 run to end the period, punctuated by Brown’s buzzer-beating 3.
“We just don't look at the scoreboard,” East said. “We stay locked into the game. And I mean, if they go on a run, we know our run's coming and try to stop them from getting on their run. (We're) just staying focused in the game and on the game plan and the details to execute.”
Up next
Mizzou (9-0) will play in its most anticipated non-conference game of the year, hosting Kansas (8-1) in the Border Showdown on Saturday at 4:15 p.m.
Gates said he has a lot of respect for Jayhawks head coach Bill Self and knows he’ll need to be well-prepared for the rivalry matchup.
“I think I'm gonna probably try to call every former head coach, no different than I've called them at the beginning of the season,” Gates said. “I already have a great relationship with the majority of them. But you know, it's one of those things where you have to do your research. And I'll continue to do the research on it, whether it's my conversations with Norm (Stewart), conversations with Quin Snyder, conversations with Mike Anderson, Frank Haith, Kim Anderson and even Cuonzo (Martin). I have to do my research as the leader, CEO of the program, and now build the game plan with our staff, but also take their suggestions as well.”
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