The season seemed to be starting on the right foot for the Missouri Tigers.

The team was diving for loose balls, Aidan Shaw and Trent Pierce had clearly taken steps forward in the offensive games, the Tigers were off and running turning steals into alley-oops much more reminiscent of the 2022-23 season than last year.

Then the second half came and a very familiar feeling fell over the game.

Missouri led by as many as 14 points, but Memphis was able to charge back for an 83-75 season-opening win Monday in Memphis.

“In that first half, I don’t think we executed on the turnovers and the mistakes like I thought we should,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said. “The second half, they did a tremendous job of getting to the paint and getting to the free-throw line. Being able to shoot that many free throws to obviously begin that half and our inability to keep them out the lane. Those two categories were the categories that allowed them to get 51 total points in the second half.”

After not starting, Iowa transfer Tony Perkins was the first player off the bench for the Tigers and hit a layup with 13:28 left to put Missouri in front 7-5, then a Tamar Bates jumper with 10:22 left gave Missouri the lead it would keep the rest of the first half at 13-12.

Shaw slammed down a dunk off an Anthony Robinson steal, then hit a right-wing 3 to put Missouri up 18-14.

Caleb Grill dished an alley-oop to Shaw before Robinson hit a free throw and dished an assist to Pierce for a fast break dunk to increase the lead to 23-16.

Robinson hit a step-back 3 from the left corner to extend the lead to 29-19 with 6:44 left, but was immediately called for a technical foul for taunting the Memphis bench.

Pierce hit a 3 to extend the lead to 36-22, Missouri’s largest of the night, with 5:04 left in the first half, then hit a layup off a Grill steal to make it 38-25.

Pierce ended with 10 points in the first half and 13 overall, a career high after beating his best mark of 12 that came against Illinois last year as a freshman.

Tyrese Hunter hit two free throws for Memphis to cut Missouri’s lead to 42-32 going into halftime.

Missouri extended back to a 13-point advantage early in the second half when Duke transfer Mark Mitchell turned a steal into an assist to Grill for a fast break dunk, but Memphis quickly cut it back to a 9-point game as Moussa Cisse slammed down a dunk and PJ Haggerty drove for a layup.

Cisse ended with 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, while Haggerty had a game-high 25 points on 7-of-16 shooting (10-of-11 at the free-throw line), six rebounds and five assists..

Missouri got back to an 11-point lead with 14:22 left when Tamar Bates hit a pull-up 3, but a Haggerty response 3 cut the lead under 10 points for good.

Dain Dainja used a Haggerty assist for a layup to bring the game to 55-51, then Hunter hit a fast break layup to bring it to 55-53 before Hunter hit a 3 to give Memphis its first lead since the 10:23 mark of the first half.

Gates called a timeout, but the damage was done. Missouri would not retake the lead.

Haggerty extended the lead to five with a layup with 6:39 left, then he made it eight with a free throw at the 5:30 mark.

Hunter created a double-digit margin with a layup that gave Memphis a 76-65 advantage with 1:54 left to play and a PJ Carter 3 gave Memphis its biggest lead of the night at 79-67 with 1:18 left.

Robinson led Missouri with 16 points and seven assists to go with four rebounds, while Bates had 13 points, three assists and three boards.Shaw had 11 points on a perfect shooting night as he was 4-of-4 overall, 1-of-1 from 3 and 2-of-2 at the free-throw line.

Missouri shot 26-of-57 (45.6 percent) overall, 7-of-24 (29.2 percent) from 3 and 16-of-25 (64.0 percent) at the free-throw line.

After shooting 18-of-33 (55 percent) from the floor in the first half, Missouri hit just 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) in the second.

Memphis won the rebounding battle 37-30, but Missouri held a 24-16 lead in points off turnovers and had 11 steals to Memphis’ eight.

“I liked what I saw from a standpoint of our connectivity, our team,” Gates said. “Memphis is a good team, they were able to get on some runs. We weren’t able to execute and we threw the ball away. Having four assists and 11 turnovers in that second half compared to those numbers in the first, that’s where the game got away.”

Missouri (0-1) will return to Mizzou Arena for its home opener against Howard at 7 p.m. Friday.

Head on over to the Tiger Walk to discuss this game and so much more.

Scouting report: Missouri

GAME INFO

SERIES HISTORY

MISSOURI STATS

Key players

STORYLINES

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a series of arrests made in north Missouri between October 31, 2024, and November 3, 2024. During this period, a total of 14 individuals were arrested for various charges, ranging from driving while intoxicated to warrants for serious offenses.

Justin R. Aley, 42, of Maryville, Missouri, was arrested on October 31, 2024, at 8:50 a.m. in Gentry County. He faced charges of felony driving while intoxicated, possession of a controlled substance (amphetamine), unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, and failure to drive on the right half of the roadway. He was held at the Daviess-DeKalb Regional Jail on a 24-hour hold.

Brett M. Boies, 28, from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, was taken into custody on October 31, 2024, at 9:51 a.m. in Buchanan County. He was arrested on a Platte County misdemeanor warrant for a traffic violation and was held at the Buchanan County Law Enforcement Center. His arrest was bondable.

Katherine M. Flores, 37, of St. Joseph, Missouri, was arrested on October 31, 2024, at 11:41 a.m. in Buchanan County on a Buchanan County misdemeanor traffic warrant. She was also held at the Buchanan County Law Enforcement Center, and her arrest was bondable.

Nico R. Munson, 25, from Robinson, Kansas, was apprehended on November 1, 2024, at 6:20 a.m. in Buchanan County. He was charged with a misdemeanor warrant for dangerous drugs out of Buchanan County and speeding. He was held at the Buchanan County Law Enforcement Center and his arrest was bondable.

Logan B. Sullivan, 35, of Saint Joseph, Missouri, was arrested on November 2, 2024, at 1:16 a.m. in Andrew County. He was charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated and careless and imprudent driving. Sullivan was held at the Andrew County Sheriff’s Department for a 12-hour hold.

Megan L. McCleery, 54, from Kansas City, Missouri, was taken into custody on November 2, 2024, at 4:13 p.m. in Clinton County. She faced charges that included a Platte County Sheriff’s Office felony warrant for probation violation, possession of a controlled substance (felony), and unlawful use of drug paraphernalia (misdemeanor). She was held at the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office on a 24-hour hold.

Justin L. Grider, 41, of St. Joseph, Missouri, was arrested on November 3, 2024, at 9:45 p.m. in Buchanan County. He faced a misdemeanor warrant for driving while revoked or suspended issued by the St. Joseph Police Department and a charge of failing to wear a seat belt. He was held at the Buchanan County Law Enforcement Center, with the arrest being bondable.

Aaron D. Benton, 36, from Independence, Missouri, was apprehended on October 31, 2024, at 1:13 p.m. in Linn County. He was charged with felony failure to register as a sex offender, speeding, and driving with no valid plates. Benton was held at the Linn County Jail and later released.

Kimberly A. Smith, 45, of Kahoka, Missouri, was arrested on November 1, 2024, at 2:12 p.m. in Lewis County on a warrant for a Canton city ordinance violation. She was held at the Marion County Jail, and her arrest was bondable.

Francis A. Telarico, 47, from Kirksville, Missouri, was arrested on November 2, 2024, at 12:28 a.m. in Randolph County. He faced a charge of felony driving while intoxicated and was held at the Randolph County Jail on a 12-hour hold.

Darryl M. Webb, 58, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was taken into custody on November 2, 2024, at 2:20 p.m. in Lewis County. He was arrested on a felony Minnesota warrant for parole violation and was held at the Lewis County Jail with no bond allowed.

Angel M. Branford Lezcano, 52, from Miami, Florida, was arrested on November 3, 2024, at 1:36 a.m. in Adair County for driving while intoxicated. He was processed roadside and released.

Joseph A. Wolfe, 32, of Palmyra, Missouri, was arrested on November 3, 2024, at 6:25 p.m. in Marion County. He faced charges that included DWI with a person under 17 in the vehicle (three counts), failure to wear a seat belt, failing to secure a child under 16 years old with a seat belt, failing to secure a child under 8 years old with a seat belt (two counts), and failing to yield to an approaching vehicle. Wolfe was held at the Marion County Sheriff’s Department and later released.

Douglas R. Barnes, 49, from Brookfield, Illinois, was apprehended on November 3, 2024, at 8:42 p.m. in Macon County for felony driving while suspended. He was held at the Macon County Sheriff’s Department and subsequently released.

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