COLUMBIA, Mo. _ For 38 minutes it appeared Missouri was going to be able to survive without Mark Smith, its top 3-point shooter, who was ruled out with a sprained ankle.
But a blown 14-point lead in the final two minutes of regulation left Missouri (10-8, 1-5 SEC) picking up the pieces after a 86-80 overtime loss to No. 25 LSU (16-3, 6-0 SEC) on Saturday night. LSU has now won nine consecutive games.
Smith went into Saturday as a game-time decision after spraining his left ankle in the closing minutes of Mizzou's loss to Arkansas on Wednesday.
Missouri senior Jordan Geist led all scorers with a season-high 25 points and had a game-high 11 rebounds. He hit shots from all over the floor in a game in which MU needed more from its backcourt, given Smith's absence.
Missouri played one of its better halves against LSU, relative to what it has done so far in Southeastern Conference play. MU played a full 20 minutes and featured no pre-halftime collapse like in the past. Geist had 13 points in the first half, including three 3-pointers, to pace the MU offense. Both Geist and fellow senior Kevin Puryear were hit with technical fouls early in the first half for talking to LSU players, something commonplace with Geist, but rare for Puryear. Puryear only played seven minutes in the first half after picking up three fouls.
A 3 from Geist gave MU an 18-14 lead and capped an 11-1 Missouri run to settle down the Tigers' offense after a few bad possessions. LSU committed 12 fouls as a team in the first half, which made MU sophomore Jeremiah Tilmon's foul issues seem nonchalant. The visiting Tigers went into halftime with five players having at least two fouls. Tilmon finished with 15 points in a career-high 35 minutes.
LSU took a brief lead after a 7-0 run, off a pair of free throws by Emmit Williams, but MU freshman Xavier Pinson's 3-pointer with 35 seconds left in the first half, tied the game at 33-33 going into halftime.
In the second half Geist picked up where he left off. After walk-on Ronnie Suggs scored five straight points to open the half, Geist resumed scoring in the toughest of ways. With the shot clock winding down, he hit a turnaround 2-pointer with his foot on the line to put MU up 46-43. The play before he found Javon Pickett on a bounce pass between two defenders for a basket.
Without Smith, Missouri got good minutes from Pinson, who scored eight points in 14 minutes, while showing an improved effort on defense. Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin has said he wants to see Pinson, a 6-foot-1 freshman, control the flash in his game while putting in more effort on defense. Pinson did just that, forcing a jump ball while guarding LSU point guard Tremont Waters and got two steals.
LSU got Mizzou's lead to single digits in the final two minutes off a 14-1 run where MU failed to rebound and take care of the ball. Emmit Williams' free throw with 2 seconds left tied the game at 71 and sent the game into overtime.
LSU took the lead in overtime off a deep 3 by Ja'vonte Smart before Puryear tied it with his first basket of the game. Smart hit another 3 on the following possession, which helped seal the game. LSU guard Skylar Mays led his team with 24 points and was one of four players in double figures for LSU.
Missouri's next game is at No. 16 Auburn on Wednesday.
