Missouri learns valuable lesson against OVC foe

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- It wasn't as resounding as the previous week's 27-point victory over California, but Saturday's 75-64 victory over Murray State likely was more important to Missouri.

Having to weather a last-minute rally before winning provided valuable lessons for the Tigers, coach Mike Anderson said Monday.

"I thought the time came down the stretch where we had to step up on defense and make some plays and we did that," Anderson said. "It gave us an opportunity to teach as well and get our guys to understand what it takes to be a good basketball team and go in the direction we want to go."

After trailing by as many as 17 points in the second half, Murray State cut the lead to four, forcing Missouri to finish off an opponent late in the game for the first time since a victory over Oral Roberts earlier this season.

Missouri forwards Leo Lyons and DeMarre Carroll, who had been averaging a combined 37 points, scored 13 and 14 points respectively while fighting off constant double teams.

"It was a wake-up call for us and opened up our eyes," Lyons said. "You can't look at people's jerseys and you have to play as hard as you can. I think we looked at the name on the jersey. They played well to start and it kept them in the game."

A steal by Zaire Taylor that led to a bucket and a foul with under a minute left gave Missouri some breathing room. The Tigers put away the game by converting 9 of 11 free throws.

"That's encouraging, and we did it with our defense," Anderson said. "It was the best in that game in the last four minutes, and it created some offense."

More than anything, Anderson was impressed with how his players sensed some urgency and took it upon themselves to win the game.

With one more potential trap game against Stetson this weekend before the annual Braggin' Rights game against Illinois, Anderson would like to see more of that urgency.

"Ownership has started to take place," Anderson said. "From a coach's standpoint, that's great and it's what you want to see."