Tigers punch out a victory over Gamecocks, 83-74

South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris knew to expect it. He had his team prepared for it. There was still nothing he could do about it.

Missouri, coming off a rough shooting night in a loss at Mississippi State on Saturday, bounced back almost immediately against the Gamecocks on Tuesday. Three of the Tigers’ first four field goal attempts of the evening came from behind the 3-point arc. All of them fell in. Three minutes and 20 seconds into the first half, Mizzou had already doubled up on South Carolina, 14-7.

“It's probably a bad analogy but when you fought Mike Tyson, you know, part of the deal was withstanding the first couple minutes, honestly,” Paris said of the team's fast start. “There's some stretches, good stretches, bad stretches. And when it's good stretches, sometimes there's nothing you can do about it.”

The early onslaught ended up being pivotal for the Tigers. The Gamecocks did indeed withstand the first couple of minutes and fought back to go in front multiple times, the lead changing eight times. South Carolina couldn’t do quite enough to come out on top, though, suffering an 83-74 loss inside Mizzou Arena.

“That's what February is about. Those are the dog days,” MU head coach Dennis Gates said. “You can do everything you can do right but still feel like you're wrong. So I want my guys to continue to protect their spirit because that's what connects each and every last one of us. And I thought we did that enough to come out with a victory.”

Gates said he thought his team did a good job of focusing on the little things. They tied the Gamecocks with 28 rebounds each. They scored 18 points off of the visitors’ 14 turnovers. They took care of business at the free throw line, shooting 17-21.

But South Carolina (8-16, 1-10 SEC) started making shots, which Gates said caused some frustration. After falling behind 14-7, the Gamecocks went on a 13-5 run to take their first lead of the game, 20-19. Neither team led by more than two scores for the next 16 minutes.

Gates normally tells his players not to look up at the score during the game. But senior point guard Nick Honor said in a tight game like Tuesday’s, “it’s definitely a little bit harder.”

By halftime, the Tigers clung to a 42-37 lead. The thing about Mike Tyson, though, is that even if you survive the first couple of rounds against him, he’s still Mike Tyson — he’s still dangerous enough to put you away.

Senior forward Kobe Brown had five points on 2-6 shooting at the half, along with five boards, three assists and a steal. Gates thought he was too passive, and told him as much.

“He and I shared words, some that my mom wouldn't be proud of hearing, but he responded. He responded in a way that I thought a top-50 player in the country should respond, or potential conference Player of the Year should respond,” Gates said. “He can never have a bad day. I can never have a bad day. And I thought he started the game having a bad day. And he corrected that ... and got through that frustration.”

Brown was flawless in the second half, hitting all four of his field goals and all four of his free throws. He scored eight of Mizzou’s first 15 points of the period, pushing the team ahead 57-49. He was hit in the face on a flagrant foul by SC sophomore guard Meechie Johnson, causing Brown’s right eye to swell up. Despite this, Brown scored another six points, ending the night with 19.

“I really just try to give as much effort as I can, just do what's good for the team, really,” Brown said.”

Missouri took its punches and sent enough back to earn the win. That’s all Gates is looking for down the final stretch of league play.

“Being able to win games and February is not — you know, you have to be able to have a detailed level of focus about you,” Gates said. “You have to be able to continue to do the small things.”

Prior to Tuesday’s game, the Tigers had brought at least four players off the bench in every game this year. That streak ended against South Carolina after Gates only subbed in three.

Notably, senior guard Isiaih Mosley received a “DNP.” Mosley went four weeks without playing from mid-December to mid-January due to a personal matter but had made appearances in each of the team’s past five games, starting three.

“Yeah, it was just, you know, Isiaih and I had a conversation before the game. And we both felt that it was great to, you know, just take this one off,” Gates said.

With Mosley out of the rotation and a pair of players ruled out due to injury in senior guard Tre Gomillion (groin) and junior forward Ronnie DeGray III (knee), senior point guard Sean East II and junior forward Mohamed Diarra both saw a bump in their minutes. East made the most of it, scoring 15 points, the most he’s had in SEC play this year.

“I look at it in one perspective: our team, our program, is built by committee. And we have to continue to make sure that everyone's ready. And my job is to protect our guys,” Gates said. “ Tre Gomillion wants to play, I'm making a decision. Ronnie DeGray, these guys want to be out there. So I have to make the decision. Isiaih wants to be out there but I have to make the decision as a head coach. And these guys trust me enough to do that.”

Mizzou (18-6, 6-5 SEC) ventures out on the road to face two of its toughest opponents remaining on the schedule, going up against No. 6 Tennessee (19-4, 8-2) on Saturday at 5 p.m. and Auburn (17-7, 7-4) next Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Stay up to date on all the Mizzou news with your premium subscription

Talk about this story and more in The Tigers' Lair

Make sure you're caught up on all the Tiger news and headlines

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video and live streaming coverage

Follow our entire staff on Twitter

Everyone on here already has insurance (or they should). Everyone on here also cheers for the Tigers (or they should). In college sports the hot button issue is NIL. A school can no longer compete the way they did just a few short years ago without a robust NIL collective. In our economy, the hot button issue is inflation. Here’s your opportunity to see about saving money on something that the state requires you to have on your car and your lender requires you to have on your house. Oh and by the way, just a quote from James’s office will get a donation on your behalf to Every True Tiger Foundation, one of Mizzou’s NIL initiatives. Blink if you like saving money. Blink twice if you want to do everything you can to position your favorite college program to be as competitive in the SEC as possible. Give James’s office a call at 314-961-4800 or get a quote online at carltoninsurance.net.

“If your insurance costs a leg and an arm, call James Carlton State Farm.”