Earnest Ross came up big at the end on Senior Night (photo/Mizzou Athletics)
Earnest Ross, playing in front of his family for the first time at Mizzou Arena on senior night, converted two free throws with 7.3 seconds left to give Missouri its first lead of the game and help the Tigers slip past Texas A&M with a 57-56 win on Wednesday night.
Talk about saving your best for last. Ross finished with just seven points on 1-of-7 shooting, but came up big at the line, then delivered on the defensive end. Ross got his hands on a pass from Texas A&M’s Alex Caruso’s inbound pass, and the Aggies didn’t get off another shot.
AUDIOÂ Listen to Frank Haith discuss the win (5:00)
Missouri (21-9, 9-8 SEC) shot just 26.9% for the game and trailed 30-20 at the break, but cut the Aggies lead to four and kept it that way for the final 12 minutes of the game. Mizzou used a 12-2 that cut the Aggies lead to one with just over nine minutes to play, but the Tigers could not get over that hump until the end.
Jabari Brown led Mizzou with 20 points. Jordan Clarkson added 13 and Jonathan Williams III had a team high eight rebounds as the Tigers won that battle 39-24.
The Tigers wrap up the regular season at Tennessee on Saturday. The Volunteers have won their last two games by a combined 62 points.
