Hodge scorches SIUE for 30, Mizzou takes 105-80 victory

Kobe Brown went to the bench after picking up his second foul just two minutes into Tuesday’s game against SIU Edwardsville. He stayed there for the remainder of the first half, as head coach Dennis Gates tried out different lineup combinations that didn’t feature the senior forward.

Prior to tip-off, Brown was second on the team in both points and minutes, and first in rebounds. Yet, the Tigers didn’t slow down without him on the court, claiming a 105-80 win inside Mizzou Arena.

“We don't want (Brown) on the bench, we want him on the floor with us. And I mean, if he has to pick up two, it's the next man up,” senior guard Sean East II said. “Everybody's gonna come in and play hard, give their very best like (Gates) always says.”

Freshman forward Aidan Shaw was the next man up, but he too was called for two quick fouls and had to return to the bench. Gates chose to roll out groups that featured four guards and senior forward Noah Carter, or five guards when Carter needed a breather.

Mizzou proceeded to have its best half of the season, shooting 56.8% from the field, holding SIUE to 28.6% from the floor on defense and going up 52-31. Though the team struggled holding off the Cougars on the boards at times, they managed to force 11 turnovers, resulting in 12 points.

Brown eventually returned in the second half and played well in the eight minutes he finished the night with, posting 12 points. The 105 points the Tigers scored was the 30th-most in program history and the most in any game since Dec. 18, 2010.

“We have so many players that can fill that spot … We work on this every day,” senior guard D’Moi Hodge said. “It's good to see that, even with Kobe on the bench, we still performed the way we did. But we still want him on the floor to help us in the ways he can.”

The pair of guards led the way during Missouri’s big night. Hodge had a season-high 30 points, East following him with 14.

Hodge was nearly unguardable. Gates recently called him “the fastest player in the country” in terms of going from a defensive stance to getting to the offensive end on a fast break. Hodge made a strong case on Tuesday. By the first media timeout of the first half, Mizzou led 14-5 — Hodge had nine points. He scored another eight before the buzzer, all of them coming in transition, totaling 17 points by halftime.

The British Virgin Islands native kept it up in the second, knocking down his first three looks from beyond the arc. In addition to the 30 points he finished with, he had seven rebounds, three assists and four steals.

“I'm not afraid to say this out loud or say it to him: He's a guy that can play in the NBA, because he's a piece of a puzzle. He can catch and shoot and he can play on the other side of the basketball,” Gates said. “This was just an OK game. I thought he missed open shots … I've seen him score 46.”

It was East’s best game of the season as well, as the point guard continued felt more and more comfortable the longer he was on the court. He led the team with five assists while also adding four rebounds and two steals.

“It's very, very important for me to see Sean be as unselfish as he is. He could very well be a starter in our lineup. You know, I may look to do that in these next upcoming games, I'm not sure yet,” Gates said. “... We have starters on the bench. And whenever you have starters on your bench, I truly believe it says you have a level of unselfishness, but also you have a culture that's connected from one guy to the next.”

At one point during Tuesday’s game, the head coach pulled East out of a baseline out-of-bounds play. East didn’t want to come out of the game, and said so quietly on the sideline. Gates didn’t know — he would’ve kept him in the game if he’d heard East. Mizzou ended up not scoring on the play.

“I gave up two points,” Gates said.

Gates wants constant communication from his players because he knows they bring an important perspective by actually being on the court. Hodge, who played for Gates at Cleveland State for two years, already knows this. He let the coach know that he wanted to get to 30 points before coming out of the game. Gates obliged, then apologized to Noah Carter afterward. He hadn’t given Carter the same opportunity when he had 28 points against Penn on Friday because Carter didn’t ask for it.

“If you have a players-led team, you have a team that can navigate situations, opportunities, but also obstacles,” Gates said. “The players need to be heard, they need to be heard. I'm not playing anymore, I don't play anymore. But I know those practices, those games, (the players) put in the time — not saying that our staff and myself don't, we put in time — but they are out there and they see a different version of the game. I want them to feel liberated.”