Kansas City, Mo. — Houston coach Tom Penders says his Cougars were more relaxed when they played Missouri for the second time this season.
Despite not making a field gone in the final six minutes, Houston (3-2) beat Missouri, 57-55, Wednesday night for third place in the Guardians Classic.
"It was a very pleasing win for us for a number of reasons," Penders said. "We beat a quality team from the Big 12 Conference. At Missouri, we got too frantic."
Andre Owens scored 24 points, including a free throw with 9.7 seconds left, as the Cougars avenged their loss last week to the Tigers.
Missouri coach Quin Snyder shook up his lineup after the Tigers lost to Creighton, 78-54, Tuesday night, but that wasn't enough. Missouri (2-3) has lost three straight after winning its first two games of the season.
"We're not shooting the ball well," Snyder said. "It is going to be tough to win when we're shooting the way we are."
The Tigers were 2-of-16 from three-point range Tuesday night and have made just six of 35 three-pointers in their last two games.
Jason Conley, who did not start for the first time this season, led the Tigers with 13 points, while Jimmy McKinney added 11. Kleiza, who had 19 points against Houston last week, was held to seven points.
"The first game we trapped him (Kleiza) and he passed very well out of the trap," Penders said. "We decided not to trap him at all. We were in his face. He didn't get too many open looks."
The Cougars led by as many as nine points in the first half behind the shooting of Owens, who had 15 points at halftime. The Tigers, meanwhile, committed nine turnovers and hit just 34.5 percent of their first-half shots as Houston took a 35-28 halftime lead.
Houston started the second half cold, scoring just two points -- an Englebert Cherrington field goal -- in the first eight minutes as Missouri pulled within one with 12:38 left on a Kalen Grimes free throw. But Owens made back-to-back three-pointers with 8:23 left to start a 10-2 run.
The Tigers responded with seven unanswered points, including three from Conley, to pull within two points with 3:14 left.
With 16 seconds left, the Tigers' Kevin Young was called for walking, nullifying a field goal. And just before the buzzer, Linas Kleiza missed what would have been a game-tying layup.
Kansas State 60, Denver 56
Manhattan -- Jeremiah Massey scored 15 points, and Kansas State withstood a late Denver rally. Yemi Nicholson had career highs of 27 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Pioneers (1-1). The Wildcats (2-0), who were shooting just 28.6 percent midway through the second half, went on a 17-4 run to take a 55-46 lead with 2:50 to go. Lance Harris knocked down Kansas State's only three-pointer to spark the run, and Fred Peete hit three jump shots to pull the Wildcats ahead. But Kansas State struggled from the free-throw line, and Denver was able to get within two with six seconds left before Massey knocked down two free throws to seal the win.
No. 15 Texas 95, Tennessee 70
Lahaina, Hawaii -- Freshman guard Daniel Gibson scored 19 points and started Texas' run of second-half three-pointers, leading the Longhorns over Tennessee in the third-place game of the Maui Invitational. The 15th-ranked Longhorns (3-1) bounced back from an 82-80 semifinal loss to Iowa with their fourth straight game making at least 10 three-pointers -- and they were impressive up front as well. The Longhorns missed 10 of their first 12 shots from beyond the arc against Tennessee (1-2), but Gibson made the first two of six straight for Texas. Sydmill Harris hit the third, and Kenny Taylor made the last three as Texas opened a 66-51 lead with 13:39 to play.
Louisiana-Monroe 75, Baylor 61
Waco, Texas -- DeAndre Alexander scored 23 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead Louisiana-Monroe past Baylor. After Baylor's Tommy Swanson went to the bench with his third personal foul with 16:41 left in the second half, Louisiana-Monroe (2-0) put together a 9-0 run and took a 44-33 lead. Aaron Bruce, who led Baylor (1-1) in scoring with 19 points.
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