No. 12 Missouri 84, Alabama 68: Jabari Brown made five 3-pointers as part of a career-high 22 points and Phil Pressey added 11 to go with 13 assists as the host Tigers opened their inaugural season of Southeastern Conference play with a win over the Crimson Tide.
Earnest Ross scored a season-high 19 points off the bench, Alex Oriakhi contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds and Laurence Bowers finished with 16 points for Missouri (12-2), which improved to 9-0 at home.
Kansas City, Mo., native Trevor Releford scored 19 of his career-high 26 points in the first half for Alabama (8-6, 0-1), which has lost six of eight since a 6-0 start.
The teams traded punches in the first half, as Missouri reeled off a 10-0 run only to see Alabama answer with a 12-0 spurt to regain a 19-17 lead.
The Tigers led 40-36 at halftime and slowly eased away then sealed it with a 12-2 run, shooting 56.6 percent from the field.
GAME NOTEBOOK: With his 3-pointer with 7:07 left in the second half, Releford surpassed 1,000 points in his career. He is the 46th player in program history to reach the milestone. … Bowers left the floor with an apparent bruised right knee with just over six minutes left. He returned to the bench but did not return to the game. … Alabama had won its previous four SEC openers. Missouri has not lost a league home opener since opening Big 12 play with a loss to Iowa State in 2007.
Alabama | Missouri | |
Trevor Releford 26 | Scoring | Jabari Brown 22 |
Trevor Releford 3 | Assists | Phil Pressey 13 |
Rodney Cooper 7 | Rebounds | Alex Oriakhi 10 |
Trevor Releford 7 | Free Throws Made | Laurence Bowers 4 |
Andrew Steele 2 | Steals | Alex Oriakhi 2 |
Moussa Gueye 2 | Blocks | Laurence Bowers 2 |