Liberty Flames vs Missouri Tigers Match Player Stats On Dec 09, 2020

Mark Smith scored 17 points to rally the Missouri Tigers past the Liberty Flames 69-60 Wednesday night in Columbia, Mo.

Dru Smith added 14 points for the Tigers (4-0), who are enjoying their best start since opening the 2013-14 season with a 10-0 record.

Blake Preston scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench to lead Liberty (4-3).

Earlier this season, the Flames defeated two Southeastern Conference teams, Mississippi State (84-73) and South Carolina (78-62). The reigning ASUN Conference champions had won four of their previous five games against SEC teams.

They led the Tigers for most of the first half, but Missouri outscored them 41-28 in the second half to pull away.

Liberty came into the game ranked first at the Division I level with 74 3-pointers, but the Flames made just 7 of 25 shots from beyond the arc at Missouri.

After enjoying fast starts during their first three games, the Tigers failed to push their offensive pace against the deliberate Flames. Missouri also struggled to execute a half-court offense against Liberty's pack line defense.

The Flames broke out to a quick 8-4 lead with Elijah Cuffee and Darius McGhee knocking down their first 3-point attempts.

The Tigers missed their first nine attempts from 3-point range and committed 10 first-half turnovers.

As a result, the Flames led the Tigers for the final 17:39 of the half. Back-to-back 3-point shots by Kyle Rode and Keegan McDowell vaulted the Flames to a 26-15 lead.

Mark Smith, the reigning Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, finally hit Missouri's first 3-pointer with seven seconds left in the first half to cut Liberty's lead to 32-28.

The Tigers' Dru Smith opened second half by driving to the basket for a three-point play. That triggered a 7-0 run that thrust Missouri into a 35-32 lead.

Another 3-pointer by Rode put the Flames ahead 37-35, then the teams traded leads until the Tigers used a 10-1 run to move ahead 54-47.

Then Missouri used a 9-1 run to break free of Liberty for a 63-50 lead with 3:21 to play.

--Field Level Media