Missouri 68, Virginia Commonwealth 65
NASSAU, Bahamas -- The team known for causing turnovers committed a couple at the worst possible time.
Virginia Commonwealth lost back-to-back possessions in the last minute when Darius Theus coughed up the ball and No. 13 Missouri made the Rams pay by salting away a 68-65 win Saturday night for third place in the Battle 4 Atlantic.
The Rams (3-3) led 65-63 when Briante Weber drilled a 3-pointer from the right corner with 1:36 left, but the Tigers' Phil Pressey answered with his own 3-pointer to finish a dizzying 68-second stretch when the lead changed hands five times.
Pressey then converted Theus' second turnover into a bucket with 15 seconds remaining, upping the Missouri lead to three points. VCU's Troy Daniels missed a potential tying 3-point shot with three seconds left and the Tigers (5-1) were able to melt away the remaining seconds.
Treveon Graham and Juvonte Reddic each scored 12 points for the balanced Rams. Rob Brandenberg came off the bench to add 10 for VCU, which shot just 41.5 percent from the floor and was only 8 of 26 on 3-pointers.
Laurence Bowers put together a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double for Missouri.
The Rams return home Wednesday night to face Stetson at 7:30 p.m.
