Mizzou beats Tennessee in a meeting of two struggling SEC teams

~ Brown turns in another key play in Missouri's 75-70 win

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Round one goes to Missouri. Barely.

With the Tigers and Tennessee squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble and another matchup to come between the schools, Jabari Brown scored 24 points and made a last-minute play to help Missouri hold off the Volunteers on Saturday, 75-70.

"Jabari's just not going to force shots, because that's what he does," Missouri coach Frank Haith said. "He's a mature player, he's very patient at what he does."

With 7.7 seconds remaining and a 73-70 lead, Brown stole Jeronne Maymon's inbounds pass headed for Johnathan Williams III and finished off the game's scoring with two free throws.

The Tigers (18-7, 6-6 SEC) needed all 40 minutes for the second consecutive contest to secure the win, following an 86-85 decision against Arkansas on Thursday. Missouri held a 13-point advantage with 11:05 remaining in the first half, but Tennessee pulled to within 41-37 at the break.

Jordan McRae finished with 31 points for the Volunteers (15-10, 6-6), but his 3-pointer with 10 seconds left missed. Tennessee received another chance that set up Brown's steal, though, as officials ruled the rebound went out of bounds off a Missouri player.

Missouri looked as if it might squander a 71-65 lead with 47 seconds remaining as Tennessee's Josh Richardson hit five consecutive free throws sandwiched around a botched inbounds pass from Wes Clark to Jordan Clarkson.

Brown hit two free throws before McRae missed from long range. Brown also displayed late-game heroics against the Razorbacks, driving the lane and hitting the game-winning jumper with 12.2 seconds left.

The maligned Missouri frontcourt, which only scored three points four games ago against Kentucky, accounted for 29 points Saturday. The production included 17 points from reserves Torren Jones (8), Tony Criswell (5) and Keanau Post (4).

"It was very needed," Jones said. "I feel like we see the guards take over the game so much that we just feel like maybe we might not be as important to the game."

Williams finished with 10 points after going scoreless in his last two outings.

Richardson scored 16 for the Volunteers, Jarnell Stokes added 13 points and eight rebounds. Tennessee grabbed 16 offensive rebounds but finished 4 of 21 from 3-point range and allowed Missouri to shoot 56.5 percent.

"I thought we had some good looks from the 3-point line but some shots just didn't fall," Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin said.

Both teams' postseason prospects remain uncertain, but the schools will meet again in their regular-season finales March 8 in Knoxville, Tenn.

Williams, who hadn't scored in his previous two outings, hit a jump shot early in the game to spark an 11-0 Missouri run that gave the Tigers an early 15-5 lead. The team converted six of its first seven shots, but Tennessee soon answered with a 13-4 run to close the deficit before halftime.