Missouri sophomore point guard Terrence Phillips played a fantastic game, but the final 5 seconds of Thursday's overtime loss against No. 11 Xavier during the opening round of the Tire Pros Invitational in Lake Buena, Fla., will linger.
Phillips had a long 3-pointer blocked with on the Tigers' final possession with a chance to win the game.
Musketeers junior J.P Macura smartly called a timeout with 1.7 seconds remaining when sophomore Edmond Sumner secured the loose ball.
After another timeout, Macura made a touch pass from the backcourt to Sumner, who was positioned for an off-balance fade-away 3-pointer from the right wing to win the game.
It would have been a difficult shot. The free throws Sumner received after an aggressive Phillips fouled him going for the ball with 0.3 seconds remaining proved somewhat easier.
Sumner clanked the first free throw, but rattled in the second one as No. 11 Xavier escaped with an 83-82 victory.
Phillips, who fouled out on the play, finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists and his brilliance is a big reason the Tigers nearly pulled the upset.
Missouri sophomore forward Kevin Puryear had been money at the free-throw line, but the pressure was immense when he drew a foul with 12.4 seconds left in regulation.
The Tigers, 1-1, led throughout much of the game but trailed 71-69 at that moment, meaning Puryear, who was 9 of 10 from the stripe to that point, needed to sink both.
Calm and poised, Puryear _ who finished with 22 points and a game-high 10 rebounds along with three assists _ delivered and the game went to overtime when Sumner settled for a deep 3-pointer from the right wing that drew front iron on the ensuing possession.
Xavier, 3-0, took control early during the extra five minutes, but Phillips willed Mizzou back.
It started with a deep 3 that sliced into a 78-73 lead midway through overtime.
Phillips later rebounded a long-range miss by Macura and drove the length of the floor, drawing a foul and tying the game with two free throws.
After a turnover by Sumner, freshman guard Frankie Hughes put the Tigers up with a layup inn transition before the Musketeers tied it again on a putback by junior center Sean O'Mara.
Mizzou retook the lead when Phillips split a pair of defenders off a screen by Puryear, hit the "O" button and spun off another defender into the paint for a circus layup.
With 17.8 seconds left, Macura knotted the game for the 15th and final time with two free throws, setting up the heart-wrenching final sequence for the Tigers, who will play Davidson at 10:30 a.m. Friday in the tourney's consolation semifinals. The game will be on ESPNU.
Mizzou spotted Xavier an early 9-3 lead before going on a 24-8 run.
The Tigers pulled in front for the first time on a 3-pointer by Hughes _ who scored a game-high 24 points with five rebounds, three assists and three steals _ at the 11:54 mark, which broke a tie at 11.
Puryear took the scoring reins from there, going 6 of 6 at the free-throw line and capping the outburst with a 3-pointer.
Puryear, a Blue Springs South graduate, delivered nine points during the run, while Hughes and senior Russell Woods combined for nine more.
The Musketeers mounted a 12-2 run down the stretch, tying the game up again before Puryear rifled a pass from the backcourt to Hughes for a layup at the buzzer.
Xavier missed its first eight shots in the second half, which allowed Mizzou to extend that halftime lead as high as seven points early in the second half.
Hughes, who scored a game-high 23 on Sunday against Alabama A&M, is the first freshman in Mizzou history to score 20-plus points in the first two games of his career.
Missouri's last win against a ranked opponent was an 80-71 victory against then-No. 18 UCLA on Dec. 7, 2013, at Mizzou Arena. It was vacated in January as part of self-imposed sanctions resulting from NCAA violations.
Mizzou has lost 28 straight games away from Mizzou Arena since beating NCAA Division II Chaminade in the seventh-place game of the 2014 Maui Invitational.
The streak stands at 31 straight losses against Division I opponents.
