Web posted
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Missouri defeats Iowa in 2OT
By R.B. FALLSTROM
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- DeMarre Carroll capped a career game with a thunderous dunk in the final seconds. It was a sign that Missouri's go-to player, hobbled much of the season by a high ankle sprain, is back on his game.
''He had been playing with a lot of pain and I don't think he'd dunked since he got hurt early in the year,'' coach Mike Anderson said. ''So it's good to see that.''
The 6-foot-8 Carroll helped save senior night with a career-best 26 points, including six points in the second overtime, and eight rebounds in the Tigers' 81-75 victory over Iowa State on Wednesday night. Carroll said he's been feeling better since the second half of Saturday's loss at Baylor, in which he scored all of his 17 points.
Carroll still has the ankle heavily taped, but shed a compression sleeve he had been wearing for knee tendinitis for the Iowa State game.
''I'm slowly healing, slowly feeling better,'' said Carroll, who transferred from Vanderbilt when Anderson was hired at Missouri and is finishing his first season. ''I just told myself I'm not going to use it as a cushion anymore.
''I'm just going to go out and play hard every day.''
Leo Lyons added 19 points and nine rebounds for Missouri (16-14, 5-9), which won its home finale in a half-full Mizzou Arena. Lyons missed a 15-foot fadeaway that would have ended it in regulation and was benched for about eight minutes near the start of the second half, presumably for indifferent play.
''It was my energy level, I didn't have a lot of energy. That's why I didn't question him,'' Lyons said. ''I knew I messed up and he was going to punish me.''
Carroll's baby hook with 2:12 to go in the second overtime put Missouri, which trailed by 12 points early in the second half, ahead for good at 77-75. Lyons' jumper from the left side of the key made it a four-point lead with 15 seconds to go and Iowa State's Dionte Garrett slipped while driving to the basket and was stripped to set up Carroll's clinching dunk with 1.5 seconds left.
Garrett, a freshman reserve, had a career-high 20 points for Iowa State (14-16, 4-11), which is 0-8 on the road in the Big 12 and has lost eight of nine overall. Garrett, whose previous career best was 14 points against Purdue on Dec. 22, followed his own miss with 1.5 seconds left to force the second overtime.
''He was outstanding,'' coach Greg McDermott said. ''I didn't call a time-out at the end of the first overtime, I let him play, and I thought that showed confidence.''
Iowa State outscored Missouri 7-1 in the final 1:23 of the first overtime.
Carroll topped his previous best of 23 points against Central Michigan on Nov. 12, 2007. He has struggled with a high right ankle sprain much of the season and scored in single digits five straight games earlier this month, but had 17 in a loss at Baylor on Saturday.
Jiri Hubalek, who had been questionable with an ankle injury, added 15 points and eight rebounds for Iowa State, and Craig Brackins had 13 points. Wesley Johnson, who had a game-high 20 points in Iowa State's 72-67 victory over Missouri in Ames, Iowa, on Jan. 16, was held to five points on 1-for-8 shooting.
Iowa State had won its previous two games at Missouri, but hasn't won three in a row since 1965-67.
McDermott said Missouri's press had a lot to do with erasing Iowa State's second-half cushion.
''We had some guys log some pretty big minutes, so fatigue probably played a big factor,'' McDermott said. ''And we also had some young guys out there in some spots that they hadn't been before and they made some mistakes.
''That's part of the learning process.''
Iowa State hit three of its first four shots in the second half and took its largest lead at 41-29 with 17:40 to go. Jason Horton sparked Missouri's comeback, getting six points in an 11-2 run that cut the deficit to three.
Coach Mike Anderson started his four seniors, who have combined for a 14.9-point average this season, and paid for the gesture. Missouri missed five of its first six shots, the lone basket coming on a 3-pointer by lone underclassman starter Keon Lawrence, and trailed 6-3 after the first 4:37.
Iowa State shot only 37 percent in the half, but held Missouri to 32 percent, a season worst for the first half and including 1-for-9 by the seniors, and led 32-27 at the break.
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