Costly last-second foul spoils Missouri's upset bid against Xavier

Missouri’s most uplifting performance of the dismal Kim Anderson era ended in the most crushing fashion possible.

The Tigers committed a foolish last-second foul Thursday afternoon that doomed them to an 83-82 overtime loss to 11th-ranked Xavier.

With the score tied and nine tenths of a second left in overtime, Xavier point guard Edmond Sumner inbounded the ball, sprinted to the right wing and got a touch pass right back from shooting guard J.P. Macura. Missouri guard Terrence Phillips attempted to contest Sumner’s shot and ran right through the Xavier point guard, sending him to the foul line with a chance to win it with just a single free throw.

Of course a free throw from Sumner was no guarantee considering the sophomore had missed the last four he attempted late in regulation. Sumner missed his first attempt but rattled in the second one, enabling shorthanded Xavier to escape with a victory and advance to face Clemson in Friday’s semifinals of the Tire Pros Invitational.

Xavier’s early-season performance suggests that the Clemson game will be more of a challenge than some might have predicted just a week ago.

The Musketeers squeaked by Lehigh, 84-81, in their season opener and were lucky to edge a Missouri team projected to finish last in the SEC for the third straight season. They clearly miss the outside shooting and creativity of senior guard Myles Davis, who is suspended indefinitely to start the season.

Though the ending was heartbreaking for Missouri, the fight that the freshmen- and sophomore-heavy Tigers showed against a quality opponent was undeniable progress.

Kevin Puryear (22), Frankie Hughes (24) and Phillips (21) combined to score 67 of Missouri’s 82 points. The Tigers limited Xavier to 2-for-22 shooting from behind the arc, however, they were beat up on the glass and sent the Musketeers to the free throw stripe 38 times.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him atdaggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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