Dennis Gates was worried about 1 thing after Mizzou beat KU. Here’s how Tigers avoided it

Heading into Mizzou men’s basketball’s clash against Long Island on Saturday afternoon, coach Dennis Gates emphasized the importance of avoiding complacency after the team’s upset win over then-No. 1 Kansas on Sunday.

“I thought today could have been a trap game,” Gates said. “You’ve got two things that could really deter a team, and that’s that (Kansas) win or finals.”

The Tigers took note, taking a 21-point halftime lead over the Sharks on the way to an 88-61 victory at Mizzou Arena.

Missouri (9-1) utilized its physicality and bench depth throughout the contest, leaving LIU (4-9) without any answers.

The Tigers racked up 53 bench points in the nonconference matchup, reclaiming the No. 1 spot in NCAA Division I bench points per game. Missouri now leads with an average of 45 bench points over the first 10 games of the season, surpassing Southern, which held the top position with an average of 44.8 before the bout.

Trent Pierce was the standout for the Tigers, scoring 17 of his career and game-high 24 points in the opening frame. Pierce, who was the seventh different Tiger to lead the team in scoring this season, closed the first half with 14 of MU’s last 16 points.

“It’s been a rough couple games for me for shooting,” said Pierce, who added four rebounds, one assist, three steals and a block. “And just my confidence — knowing that coach, my teammates are encouraging me to just keep shooting — has allowed me to go into this game forgetting about the last missed shot, just (focusing on) hitting the next one.”

With 16 seconds remaining in the first half, Mark Mitchell led a fast break, where he found a trailing Pierce, who soared through the air for a two-handed dunk.

Earlier in the triumph, the sophomore caught a pass from Anthony Robinson II and drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner after getting fouled by LIU guard Malachi Davis. The 6-foot-10 AZ Compass Prep graduate converted the ensuing free-throw to extend the Tigers’ lead to 30-17 with 6:05 remaining in the first half.

Pierce’s opening-half marksmanship also included three 3-pointers from different spots beyond the arc, while also cashing a contested layup to extend the MU lead to 43-24 with 48 seconds left in the first frame.

“I thought he was going to end up making at least 10 3s,” Gates said of Pierce, who shot 45.5% (5-for-11) from deep and 57.1% (8-for-14) from the field. “But he missed some open ones and I’m just thankful he made the last one and kept shooting, but also showing the different levels of his game. He’s going to be unbelievable for us.”

Marques Warrick was Missouri’s other key contributor off the pine, accumulating 16 points, one rebound, two assists and a steal. The graduate guard shot 75% (6-for-8) from the field and 80% (4-for-5) from 3-point range.

“Marques did a great job of making shots off the bounce and being aggressive,” Gates said. “He’s in my office, (I tell him), ‘Hey, man, shoot the ball.’ They don’t have to be in practice, but I’m telling them to shoot the ball, shoot the ball, shoot the ball.”

The graduate guard checked into the game with 14:49 left in the first half, drilling two 3-pointers to ignite a 14-4 run and quash a slow MU start. Mitchell carried over the energy from his 17-point outing against the Jayhawks, muscling his way to the basket for six layups, one dunk and one made free throw to total 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks.

Mizzou shot a combined 50% (14-for-28) from 3-point range, a statistic that Gates was pleased with.

“What jumped and changed the entire analytics sheet was our attempts from 3,” Gates said. “The last three we probably have not combined to that sum. We didn’t even combine to 28 attempts. ... But I credit our guys (because) when we redo what the results were, we were on top analytically.”

Although the Tigers cruised their way to victory, they still suffered some blunders that may be costly in Southeastern Conference play.

To open the closing half, Missouri fell victim to an 8-3 LIU run to trim the Tigers’ lead to 48-32 with 16:16 left. By the 15:12 media timeout, Mizzou had coughed up five turnovers and three fouls.

Mizzou tallied 13 turnovers in the contest but lessened the blow by finishing with 20 assists, 10 steals and forcing the Sharks into 15 turnovers.

“I wanted to see 20 assists and we were able to get those assists,” Gates said. “We’ve got to make better decisions because I am not happy with the 13 turnovers.”

Warrick was able to squander the Sharks’ comeback hopes, igniting a 19-3 run with a fast-break layup to put the Tigers up 50-32 with 16:11 remaining.

Missouri also struggled at the charity stripe, shooting 63.2% (12-for-19) on free throws.

“We were in the red (on the analytics stat sheet) when it came down to free throws,” Gates said. “That is something that’s important in the game for basketball for us.”

Robinson rattled the rim on a fast-break opportunity to extend the lead to 61-35 with 12:13 left in the final frame. After the jam, the momentum caused him to lose grip of the rim, which resulted in him faceplanting on the court in an awkward landing. Robinson, who recorded eight points, one rebound, four assists and the game-high six steals, intentionally fouled an LIU player and subbed himself out of the game in discomfort.

“Ant asked to go back in the game,” Gates said. “So Ant was A-OK; he was perfectly fine. I just decided to stay with what we were doing ... because I saw (we were) giving LIU some problems.”

Mizzou injury updates on Trent Burns, Caleb Grill

Mizzou duked it out against LIU without Caleb Grill and Trent Burns. Grill was injured during the first half of the Tigers’ 81-61 rout of Lindenwood, and Burns was announced out by an MU spokesperson hours before the clash with Kansas on Sunday.

Grill and Burns were seen on the court during warmups, with the former sporting a neck brace and the latter with a walking boot on his right foot.

Gates gave an update on Grill’s status at a news conference on Friday, stating that the graduate guard remains without a timeline for return.

“He’s day-to-day,” Gates said Friday, “but more importantly, we’ve got to see what he feels like.”

Missouri, on a nine-game winning streak, concludes its 10-game homestand against Jacksonville State (5-4) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Mizzou Arena. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.