Story by the Associated Press
Photos by Karen Mitchell
Phil Pressey (1) is congratulated by teammates near the end of Saturday’s game. Pressey scored a career-high 26 points.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Earlier in the season, Missouri men’s basketball coach Frank Haith acknowledged that Missouri’s offense ran through Laurence Bowers.
Not anymore.
For the third consecutive game, Phil Pressey dictated the pace in the second half and put the 12th-ranked Tigers in position to win. Unlike its last game, a three-point overtime loss at UCLA, Missouri scored down the stretch Saturday and managed to edge Bucknell 66-64.
Pressey scored a career-high 26 points, mostly thanks to a career-best 10 made field goals. He singlehandedly kept the Tigers in the game during a 90-second stretch late in the second half by scoring seven consecutive points.
“He’s a terrific player,” Haith said. “Phil will tell you he’s all about just getting better and learning. You love a kid like that, he has that kind of attitude. Those special players, when you have one, he’s one of those guys that can do a lot of different things on the court to help you win basketball games other than score.”
But Pressey’s performance almost went for naught.
The 5-foot-11 point guard clanked the front-end of a 1-and-1 leading 64-63 with 10.3 seconds remaining. Bucknell’s Mike Muscala then bailed the Tigers out by stepping on the baseline with 4.1 left on the clock after catching a pass from Ryan Hill.
Earnest Ross made two free throws for the Tigers (11-2), but a foul by Jabari Brown put Muscala on the line for a final attempt to tie the game with 1.9 remaining. After making the first free throw, Missouri’s Stefan Jankovic grabbed the rebound on the second to end the game.
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Stefan Jankovic, I was so wrong about you.
The 6-foot-11 point-forward from Ontario showed out during Missouri’s final exhibition game against Missouri Southern, propelling the Tigers to an 86-60 win. I wrote last week that I anticipated Jankovic being redshirted due to his lack of strength and inability to find a role within the Tigers’ offense. Yeah, that’s not going to happen. On Sunday the Canadian product had no problem finding himself and led the Tigers with 20 points and a dunk that rivals any of Keion Bell’s.
Jankovic’s length makes him such a matchup problem for opposing teams. He’s quick enough to drive past his defender if he is played tight and has a reliable outside shot that demands respect. His motor on the offensive glass is what stood out to me, though. Jankovic crashed the boards on every possession and had a great acrobatic put-back layup off of a free throw. Jankovic is an inside-out player that Missouri hasn’t had in recent years and it will be interesting to see how he fits in with all of the Tigers’ quick guards, either way he has too much talent to not get minutes once the season begins.
O, Canada!
Speaking of freshman Canadians, Negus Webster-Chan did a phenomenal job of running point with Keion Bell out due to sickness. Committing no turnovers in 28 minutes, Webster-Chan really made the most of the opportunity, didn’t try to do too much and did a great job of running the pick and roll with the Missouri front court. The Tigers need to get recruits from the great white north more often.
Dixon Dilemma
What’s Mike Dixon’s role going to be? Dixon’s suspension won’t go on for much longer and with this Tigers team looking so much more different than last year’s, it’s going to be interesting to see where he fits in. Coach Frank Haith said at the beginning of the season that if he had to guess on whom the Tigers’ leading scorer would be, it would be Dixon. Although that prediction will probably still hold true, how long will it take for all the Tigers to gel?
The Tigers open up there season against SIUE at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10 at Mizzou Arena.