Crews leads fellow Missouri mates to 83-72 win over feisty Jacksonville State
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Reserve Jacob Crews scored 19 points and Mark Mitchell scored 18 points and Missouri overcame a handful from Jacksonville State and beat the Gamecocks 83-72 on Tuesday night.
Reserve Trent Pierce scored 12 points and Anthony Robinson II scored 11 for the Tigers (10-1), who won their 10th straight game for the first time since the 2013-14 season when they started 10-0.
Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 18 points, Jamar Franklin 15, Jao Ituka 13 and Michael Houge 12 for the Gamecocks (6-5).
Crews sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a Mitchell layup and the 8-0 run in 1:23 gave Missouri its largest lead of the game at 75-68 with 4:23 remaining. The run continued when Mitchell made a pair of foul shots and Crews dropped another 3 for an 80-68 lead.
Mason Nicholson's dunk with 5:59 remaining gave the Gamecocks their last lead at 68-67. Jacksonville State owned its biggest lead at 19-12 with 10:21 left before halftime on a jump shot by Houge.
It was the first meeting between the two schools. The Gamecocks have a 1-44 record all time against SEC teams and a 1-43 record all time vs current SEC opponents. The lone victory came in the 1952-53 season when the Gamecocks beat Alabama 67-64.
The Gamecocks travel to face Eastern Kentucky on Saturday.
Missouri hosts Illinois on Sunday.
