Moore's 15 and 11 lift Tennessee past Missouri 59-51

Tennessee's Armani Moore, right, shoots past Missouri's Jakeenan Gant, left, during their game Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015, in Columbia, Mo.
Tennessee's Armani Moore, right, shoots past Missouri's Jakeenan Gant, left, during their game Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015, in Columbia, Mo.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Armani Moore scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Kevin Punter added 12 points to lead Tennessee past Missouri 59-51 on Saturday.

After holding on against No. 19 Arkansas earlier in the week, Tennessee (11-5, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) built its lead late against the Tigers, using a 14-3 run in the final five minutes to gradually pull away. The result gave the Volunteers wins in their first two SEC road games for the first time since 2009.

Namon Wright led Missouri (7-10, 1-3) with 13 points to finish as the only player in double figures. The Tigers led 46-43 following a layup from Jakeenan Gant with five minutes to go but wouldn't score again for 3 minutes.

Missouri lost 86-37 to No. 1 Kentucky on Tuesday and Tennessee dropped a 56-38 decision to Alabama on Jan. 10, and both teams revisited those offensive struggles, combining to make one of their first nine shots from the field.

After trading baskets for most of the opening half, the Tigers used a 6-0 run to grab a 21-17 lead with 4:14 left before the break. The Volunteers then answered with the following seven points en route to leading 26-24 at halftime.

Devon Baulkman added two free throws with 13:52 remaining to increase Tennessee's lead to 37-29, but Missouri fought back, scoring nine of the next 11 points. Neither team was able to build a two-possession lead again until Josh Richardson drained two shots from the charity stripe to make it 54-49 Volunteers with just 72 seconds left.

The Tigers couldn't answer.

Johnathan Williams III leads Missouri this season with 13 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, but scored all eight of his points Saturday in the first half. He finished 4 of 9 shooting after scoring three points in the loss to the Wildcats.

Tramaine Isabell and Keith Shamburger also added eight points apiece for the Tigers.

One of the loudest cheers of the game occurred when several current and former St. Louis Cardinals players, including closer Trevor Rosenthal, were introduced with 2:38 remaining in the first half.

The team visited Columbia - about 100 miles west of St. Louis - to sign autographs and raise awareness for its upcoming season.

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