Isiaih Mosley scored 18 points, all in the second half, as Missouri pulled away for an 83-62 victory over Mississippi Valley State Sunday in Columbia, Mo.
Mosley finally got on track offensively after scoring just 18 points in his previous three games. While at Missouri State, he led the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring the previous two seasons.
D’Moi Hodge scored 18 points and had six steals for the Tigers (5-0). DeAndre Gholston had 13 points and four assists and Nick Honor added 10 points and six assists.
Terry Collins poured in 27 points and Arecko Gipson added 11 for the Delta Devils (1-5), who stayed close until Missouri turned up its defensive pressure midway through the second half.
The Tigers forced 23 turnovers and scored 21 fastbreak points.
Mississippi State opened in a zone defense and Missouri bolted out to an 11-6 lead with Hodge hitting two 3-pointers and Honor hitting one. Noah Carter’s second-chance bucket with 14:22 left in the first half put the Tigers up 20-12.
But Collins single-handedly kept the Delta Devils close. He hit his first four shots, including two from 3-point range, to get rolling toward his 22-point first-half outburst.
The Tigers moved ahead 35-28 with 5:02 left in the half with a 5-0 spurt, but once again they could not pull away from the Delta Devils.
Mississippi Valley State’s Michael Barber converted a three-point play on a putback with 22 seconds left in the first half to cut Missouri’s halftime lead to 40-37.
The Delta Devils outrebounded the Tigers 20-14 during the half and extended their possessions with seven offensive rebounds.
Hodge scored on a tip-in and then a run-out dunk as Missouri’s 8-0 run built a 50-40 lead in the first 4:29 of the second half.
Mosley hit a 3-point jumper, a leaner from the free throw line and a driving layup to headline a 17-0 run as Tigers raced to a 70-46 lead with 7:46 left.
Gholston posted seven points in the final 4:53 as Missouri closed out the victory. The Delta Devils could get no closer than 18 points the rest of the way.
–Field Level Media
