Missouri beats Vanderbilt at 3-point line
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Vanderbilt arrived in Columbia as the SEC's best team in opponent 3-point percentage. No. 22 Missouri entered Saturday's game having made 11 of its last 49 3-point attempts.
Neither trend continued in Missouri's 81-59 win over the Commodores.
The Tigers made 8 of 15 first-half 3-point attempts to run out to a 29-point halftime lead. Missouri (15-4, 4-2 SEC) made 52.4 percent of its 3-point attempts overall. Guard Jabari Brown led the Tigers with 21 points, making 4 of 8 from 3-point range.
"He (Brown) becomes a really difficult matchup, physical guard, when he's playing that way," Missouri coach Frank Haith said. "Attacking the basket. I texted him last night, asking him to continue to focus on being a complete player. I think that's what Jabari needs to do."
Four of Missouri's five starters scored in double figures.
Vanderbilt's opponents previously had made 29.9 percent of 3-point field goals, and conference foes were hitting just 25.5 percent.
"They were much better, much faster, shot better, rebounded way better," Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. "Everything, every facet, they whooped us, so not really much to say about it."
After trailing 11-8 with 15:30 left in the first half, Missouri went on a 32-2 run as Vanderbilt (8-10, 2-4) made one field goal in nearly 12 minutes. The Tigers outscored Vanderbilt 41-9 to end the half shooting 54.8 percent. They finished the game at 54.9 percent.
"Every timeout, we talked about winning mini-games," Haith said. "Winning four-minute games. I thought our guys had tremendous focus and not looking at the scoreboard, just playing the game."
Stallings said, "They started hitting threes and getting us in transition. We didn't get matched up a few times, ... and they made us pay every time."
Vanderbilt's cold stretch came after making four of its first six shots. However, the Commodores' two leading scorers -- Kedren Johnson and reserve Kyle Fuller -- were held scoreless in the first half. They average a collective 25.9 points.
The Commodores found a rhythm in the second half, outscoring Missouri 16-4 to cut the deficit to 17 in the first five minutes. However, a 3-point field goal from freshman Negus Webster-Chan spurred a quick 7-0 run for the Tigers, and Vanderbilt never got the deficit under 20 points again.
The long-range shooting wasn't Missouri's only advantage in the victory. The Tigers outrebounded Vanderbilt 39-17, led by 12 rebounds from center Alex Oriakhi. Missouri had been outrebounded by a combined 13 in its five previous games.
Oriakhi added 18 points and needs five more to reach 1,000 for his four-year career that began in Connecticut. He transferred to Missouri prior to this season. After scoring four points in a blowout loss to Florida, Oriakhi has posted double-doubles in his past two games.
"As far as rebounding, I definitely feel I take credit for that," Oriakhi said. "Rebounding is something I feel I have a passion for and I love doing. Anytime we get out-rebounded, I blame myself. We just wanted to get back to rebounding the way we're capable of."
Missouri also used Keion Bell as a point guard to rest starter Phil Pressey, who leads the team at 34.2 minutes per game. On Saturday, he played 26 minutes. In his stead, Bell forced three turnovers and scored 12 points.
"The coaches have been talking to me about energy throughout the year," Bell said. "That's what I tried to bring on the defensive end and on the offensive end . . . just trying to bring a lot of energy and motivate our guys, just get us going."
Forward Rob Odom led Vanderbilt with 17 points, and Johnson scored 11 second-half points to join Odom as the only two Commodores in double figures.
NOTES: Forward Laurence Bowers warmed up with Missouri but did not play. He has missed the last four games with a knee injury suffered against Alabama on Jan. 8. ... Missouri guard Keion Bell returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday's game against South Carolina. He sprained his ankle against Florida a week ago. He scored 12 points in 23 minutes Saturday.
