(AP) COLUMBIA, Mo — Antonio Blakeney hit 3 of 4 from 3-point range, finishing with 24 points for the second consecutive game as LSU beat Missouri 88-77 on Wednesday night.

“We took a hard loss so we had to try to come get one back on the road,” Blakeney said. “I’m a real good scorer, and our offense is good for any good scorer, so just running through the offense, I’ll get open looks…Just going out there playing hard, playing aggressive, and making plays when I had to.”

Aaron Epps and Jalyn Patterson added 11 points apiece

Blakeney said the team keyed in on Barnett after his big first half.

“He was shooting it well at first. I think we gave him a little bit of space, so coming into the second half, we just tried to get up in him, and he took those same shots, I think, and he missed them,” Blakeney said.

Kevin Puryear added 15 points and seven rebounds, and Jordan Geist scored 13 in his second career start. Terrence Philips, who came off the bench after starting in his first 43 games, had 12 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

“I thought he played really well,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said of Phillips. “I thought maybe he would give us a boost when he came off the bench. I thought that he would have a chance to sit there and kind of study what’s going on and come in and play.”

Missouri (5-8, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) led 40-35 at halftime, but LSU opened the second half on a 9-4 run and took the lead with 14:25 remaining following a 3-pointer by Blakeney.

Puryear tied the game at 54-54 before LSU (9-4, 1-1) made seven of its next eight shots during a 17-4 run that sealed it.

“I would say those two turnovers to start the half, that definitely set the tone for the second half and it kind of deflated us,” Puryear said. “And then, they came down and hit two quick three’s, and then I thought that was pretty much the end, and then we played like it was, and just really couldn’t climb back into it.”

Missouri shot just 38.7 percent, including 1 of 13 from 3-point range, in the second half.

“Going into halftime with a deficit, we were fortunate to come back out and have a good first four or five minutes in the second half, and continued to battle and down the stretch,” LSU coach Johnny Jones said. “It was fortunate that our defense was able to pick up and take it to a different level.”