COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri men’s basketball team lit up the scoreboard in a 105-80 win over SIU Edwardsville Tuesday night in front of 8,241 fans at Mizzou Arena. The win brings Mizzou to an undefeated record of 4-0, while SIUE drops to 1-2.
Graduate student D’Moi Hodge (Tortola, British Virgin Islands) played a pivotal role in the victory with 30 points on 11-of-19 from the field. On the defensive end, the 2022 Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year snagged seven rebounds and snatched four steals, both team-highs.
Hodge’s efforts were supplemented with four other Tigers scoring in double figures. Senior Sean East II (Louisville, Ky.) scored a season-high 14 points, senior Kobe Brown (Huntsville, Ala.) chipped in another 12 in just eight minutes and graduate student Tre Gomillion (Augusta, Ga.) and senior Isiaih Mosley (Columbia, Mo.) both scored 10 apiece.
Mizzou scored the first basket of the game with SIUE quickly responding with a basket of their own. That would be the only time the Tigers weren’t in the lead over the Cougars, as Mizzou never trailed and widened the gap to as much as 41 points.
Hodge got scorching hot in the first half, leading all scorers with 17 first-half points, and the rest of the offense followed suit. Mizzou shot 56.8% from the field through 20 minutes, its best shooting performance in a single half this season. On the defensive end, the Tigers held SIUE to just 28.6 percent in the first 20 minutes of action, which included a 1-of-17 stretch to finish the period in building a 52-31 halftime advantage.
The offense only continued to step on the gas through the second half and shot even more efficiently down the stretch. The Tigers shot 62.9% from the field in the period while making half their 3-point attempts.
Overall, the Tigers were 43-of-72 (59.7%) from the field, sinking 9-of-22 (40.9%) from 3-point range. Mizzou also collected 22 assists, its fourth-straight game eclipsing 20 assists in a game.
Defensively, Mizzou held SIUE to 23-of-58 (39.7%) from the field and 4-of-21 (19.0%) from 3-point range. The Tigers disrupted driving and passing lanes throughout the game, forcing 15 steals for the second time this season, while forcing 21 Cougar turnovers. Those turnovers were converted into 29 points for the Tigers.
