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No. 9 Missouri holds off Texas

Jan 14, 2012 - 11:02 PM Columbia, MO (Sports Network) - Ricardo Ratliffe scored 21 points, while Phil Pressey added 18 points and 10 assists, and No. 9 Missouri held off Texas for an 84-73 victory at Mizzou Arena.

Marcus Denmon ended with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers (16-1, 3-1 Big 12), who have won two in a row since losing at Kansas State a week ago.

They held a 43-30 lead at halftime, and after Texas got within two possessions in the middle of the second half, Missouri pulled back ahead and led comfortably the rest of the way.

"It was a great win for us today," said Missouri head coach Frank Haith. "I thought we showed some poise down the stretch. When they cut [the lead] to five, we did a nice job of getting stops."

J'Covan Brown poured in 34 points for the Longhorns (12-5, 2-2), who had won their last two.

"Our problem lies on the offensive end. We don't do the things we need to do to reach our full potential," said Texas head coach Rick Barnes. "J'Covan Brown had a great game today, but we've got to have everybody."

Missouri used a 16-2 run near the middle of the first half to take control. Denmon, Michael Dixon and Kim English each hit a three-pointer during the run, which Ratliffe ended with two layups for a 30-16 advantage.

The Tigers led by double digits for the rest of the half, and were up 59-46 after English sank a jumper with 13 minutes to play.

But Myck Kabongo followed with a three, Alexis Wangmene added a three-point play, and Texas began to come back. With just under 10 minutes remaining, Brown drained two free throws to make it a 62-57 game.

However, Pressey drilled a three at the other end, and made two foul shots after Kabongo turned the ball over. His fastbreak dunk with 8:36 to play pushed Missouri's lead to 69-57, and Texas didn't put together another run.

Game Notes

Both teams shot well from behind the three-point line. Missouri made 10-of-21, while Texas sank 9-of-16. The Longhorns, however, shot only 45.8 percent overall...English scored 14 points for the Tigers...Kabongo had 12 points and 10 assists for Texas.