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Dixon, No. 4 Missouri edge Texas

Jan 31, 2012 - 5:47 AM Austin, TX (Sports Network) - Michael Dixon's trip from goat to hero took all of 25 seconds.

After committing an offensive flagrant foul that helped Texas take the lead, Dixon converted a difficult left-handed floater with 31 seconds left to lift fourth-ranked Missouri past the Longhorns, 67-66.

Dixon missed just once on the night, scoring 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting, while Phil Pressey and Ricardo Ratliffe added 13 points apiece for the Tigers (20-2, 7-2 Big 12), who claimed their second straight victory.

"It was a great win for us. I felt we showed some toughness down the stretch," Missouri head coach Frank Haith said.

J'Covan Brown led Texas (13-9, 3-6) with 20 points, while Julien Lewis donated 12 points and Myck Kabongo 10 in defeat.

Missouri's double-digit lead trickled away in the final minutes.

Ratliffe and Clint Chapman exchanged easy baskets before a crucial call with just over one minute to play. Dixon caught the ball close to the halfcourt line, and in an attempt to create room, elbowed his defender in the face, prompting an offensive flagrant foul against the Tigers guard. Brown made both free throws, then converted on a high-arching bank shot from the left side for a 66-65 lead with 56.9 seconds to go.

Dixon made amends for his error with a difficult floater with the left hand, giving the visitors the lead once again with 31 ticks to play.

Haith went to a zone out of the timeout, and it lead to Kabongo's forced jumper in the closing seconds as Brown stood on the opposite end of the floor.

"We had two things ready. One for man and one for zone. And the one for zone, we didn't move or cut the way we needed to," Texas head coach Rick Barnes said.

The first half was a battle of wills, as the Tigers remained cold from the perimeter and Texas was stuck in last-second scramble mode on most possessions.

Missouri jumped out to an 11-6 lead on the heels of five straight points capped by Ratliffe's bucket from in close. Texas, however, rattled off the next five and neither team could escape the other's reach in the first 20 minutes.

The Tigers led by eight at 26-18 after Pressey and Kim English connected on consecutive jumpers. The halftime margin stood at 27-22, a welcome deficit for the Longhorns considering they didn't register one assist in the first 20 minutes.

The pace and productivity both picked up in the second half. Dixon's trey opened a 32-23 advantage, and the guard connected on a pull-up moments later for a double-digit lead, 36-24. Texas reached deep and pushed back, using a Brown three to move within 42-36. Jonathan Holmes' bucket with just under nine minutes to go made it a one-possession game at 50-47.

Game Notes

Missouri made 48.2 percent of its shots, but made just 5-of-14 threes and corralled only 26 rebounds to 38 for the Longhorns...Texas made 42.1 percent of its shots, with Brown making 7-of-18 (1-of-7 from long range)...Missouri leads the series, 13-12...The Tigers improved to 4-2 in true road games.