Missouri handles Baylor in Big 12 battle
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Phil Pressey scored 19 points behind four pointers and No. 4 Missouri used a second-half surge to down No. 6 57, on Saturday.
Marcus Denmon and Michael Dixon added 16 points and six assists apiece for the Tigers (23-2, 10-2 Big 12), who went 8-of-15 from beyond the arc in the second half. They have won five straight since a loss at Oklahoma State on January 25.
The Bears (21-4, 8-4), who were coming off of Wednesday's loss to Kansas, were paced by Quincy Miller's 20 points. Leading scorer Perry Jones III had just four points on 2-of-12 shooting. Baylor has dropped 11 straight trips to Columbia, last winning in Missouri in 1948.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Each of the Tigers' previous three wins had been decided by one possession, but that was not the case on Saturday. They were up 38-37 in the second half before unleashing an 8-0 run to create space.
Dixon started the burst with a three and Steve Moore threw down a trailing slam before Kim English capped it with a trey for a 46-37 lead. Quincy Acy stopped the run with a free throw, but the Tigers continued their onslaught from the perimeter, burying the Bears in the process.
Dixon and Denmon both connected on a pair of threes and Pressey also hit one from deep over the next five-plus minutes of play, as the margin stretched to 61-47. Denmon's layup increased the advantage to 16 with under four minutes to play and the Tigers weren't tested the rest of the way.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Earlier, Miller opened the game with a trey and followed with a layup for a 5-0 Baylor lead. Missouri responded with six straight on jumpers from Ricardo Ratliffe, Denmon and Dixon, setting the tone for a back-and-forth first half.
Pressey's third trey of the half came with 41 seconds to play and gave the Tigers their largest lead to that point, 33-27. But Pierre Jackson's putback on the other end marked Baylor's 12th offensive rebound and 14th second-chance point and made it 33-29 at the break.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Tigers won both meetings with the Bears this season. They took an 89-88 victory in Waco on January 21 and lead the all-time series 15-10...Denmon moved into 10th place on Missouri's all-time scoring list, surpassing Jon Sundvold (1,597). He now has 1,605 career points...Jones entered Saturday averaging 14.3 points per game.