Texas Tech fends off Missouri, 92-84

~ The Tigers fell to 1-3 in the Big 12 with Wednesday's loss.

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Martin Zeno was in Bob Knight's doghouse not too long ago.

After Tech lost at Oklahoma State earlier this month, Knight called Zeno's play disappointing.

Wednesday he scored a career-high 33 points to lead Tech to a 92-84 win over Missouri.

"It's motivation," he said of Knight's admonishment after the loss to the Cowboys. "Also, it makes me go out there and just do my best, just prove him wrong. That just gives me the edge right there."

The loss left the Tigers winless on the road this season, while Tech's win gave Knight his 901st career win.

Tech led by a dozen midway through the first half, but Missouri came back to hold a slight edge at halftime.

After the break, Missouri built a 49-44 lead before Tech (11-7, 2-2 Big 12) turned things around.

The Red Raiders turned the ball over less and scored on six of seven possessions, using a 15-2 run to go up 65-55 with just more than 9 minutes left.

"The best moment that our team has had all year was when they fought back in the second half and got the game in a position where we had a chance to win it, and then closed it out," Knight said.

Zeno had 11 during the spurt, but the Tigers, who used a full-court press throughout the game, pounced back. They used an 8-2 run to whittle the margin to 67-63 just a couple of minutes later.

After that, Missouri pulled within three points three times, the last at 87-84 with 36 seconds remaining.

Knight called Zeno's play this season "inconsistent." But against Missouri, the player he looked to as a team leader came through.

"Tonight he not only played well, but he did a good job keeping people going, talking to people and doing what he's supposed to do as a senior," Knight said.

The loss extended the Tigers' road-loss streak to five games.

Keon Lawrence scored 24 points, Stefhon Hannah added 17 and DeMarre Carroll got 14 to lead the Tigers (11-8, 1-3).

Turnovers hurt the Tigers, who committed 21. They average 13.

"If you're going to have a chance to win the game, you got to take care of the basketball," Missouri coach Mike Anderson said. "We had three turnovers on out-of-bounds plays -- which is very uncharacteristic. We got to correct a lot of areas of our basketball team."

The Red Raiders, who got hot in the second half, played four guards most of the game. They used their quickness and ball-handling skills to work the ball up the court.

Tech hit on 15-of-22 field goals after the break. Had they hit more free throws, the Red Raiders would have sealed the win earlier. They missed 14 of 50 attempts from the line.

Zeno, who went to the line a career-high 24 times, made a career-high 19 of them. Both the attempts and the free throws made were school records.

Knight got livid with his players in the first half. Upset at his team's sloppy play, the Hall of Fame coach who's won more Division I men's games than anyone, threw his clipboard to the floor as he sat in a chair chewing out the players during a timeout.