Post by MizzouTiger on Feb 18, 2008 12:18:23 GMT -5
www.kansascity.com/167/story/493393.html
Matt Lawrence is lone bright spot for Tigers
By MIKE DeARMOND
The Kansas City Star
MANHATTAN, Kan. | Having just swished six three-pointers, Matt Lawrence still trudged off the court at Bramlage Coliseum in an obvious funk.
At any moment, surely Lawrence would drop to the floor and crawl. And even by the time the magnitude of Missouri’s 100-63 humiliation had some time to fade, Lawrence sat with head in hands hoping no one would ask him to say anything.
But of course they did.
“We came back on ’em back at our place,” Lawrence finally managed to say.
Was that just two weeks ago, at Mizzou Arena, where the Tigers rallied from 15 down and knocked off Kansas State 77-74?
“They said it wasn’t going to happen this time,” Lawrence said. “They got the lead (52-31 at the half), we tried to chip away at the start of the second half and they kind of stepped on our necks.”
Missouri didn’t choke.
The Tigers were choked.
By Michael Beasley’s 40 points and 17 rebounds. By Bill Walker’s 18 points and nine rebounds.
By a K-State defense that forced the most turnovers (24) in coach Mike Anderson’s two seasons at Mizzou. And, of course, the 37-point margin of defeat was the worst in the 56 games Anderson has been at the MU helm.
“When you get down by 20 points at somebody else’s place,” Lawrence said, “it’s tough to gain energy, get all over them and get stops.”
Lawrence did his best, tying his season high for three pointers (six of 11), a total of makes and misses he put up on Dec. 30 at Mississippi State.
In that game, also a loss, Lawrence finished with 28 points. Against Kansas State on Saturday, Lawrence scored 20 points.
But no other Missouri player scored more than nine points. So it really didn’t matter that Lawrence played one of his best games.
Freshman Justin Safford tried to put the best face possible on the situation.
“Whether you lose by 30 or lose by one,” Safford said, “it still is just a loss.”
Moments later, Anderson expressed that same sentiment, making it obvious that someone in the locker room had been listening.
But late Saturday it was hard to hear that message.
The roar of the Kansas State fans seemed to echo everywhere, taunting a 14-12 Mizzou team that had just experienced the on-court equivalent of their recent off-court nightmare.
Stefhon Hannah, one of five suspended after a late night at the Athena Night Club, was the only player to miss this one.
“Obviously it was a different game than it was in Columbia,” Anderson said. “We ran into a buzz saw.
“We couldn’t do anything right.”
There was no sugar-coating anything. No taking solace in Lawrence breaking out of his season-long shooting slump, if just for one night.
Anderson wants his team to put this game behind it by Monday’s practice. It will be fine if the sting begins to fade today.
But …
“With the losses, you’ve got to hurt until midnight,” Anderson said.
Missouri may be hurting a lot longer than that.
Matt Lawrence is lone bright spot for Tigers
By MIKE DeARMOND
The Kansas City Star
MANHATTAN, Kan. | Having just swished six three-pointers, Matt Lawrence still trudged off the court at Bramlage Coliseum in an obvious funk.
At any moment, surely Lawrence would drop to the floor and crawl. And even by the time the magnitude of Missouri’s 100-63 humiliation had some time to fade, Lawrence sat with head in hands hoping no one would ask him to say anything.
But of course they did.
“We came back on ’em back at our place,” Lawrence finally managed to say.
Was that just two weeks ago, at Mizzou Arena, where the Tigers rallied from 15 down and knocked off Kansas State 77-74?
“They said it wasn’t going to happen this time,” Lawrence said. “They got the lead (52-31 at the half), we tried to chip away at the start of the second half and they kind of stepped on our necks.”
Missouri didn’t choke.
The Tigers were choked.
By Michael Beasley’s 40 points and 17 rebounds. By Bill Walker’s 18 points and nine rebounds.
By a K-State defense that forced the most turnovers (24) in coach Mike Anderson’s two seasons at Mizzou. And, of course, the 37-point margin of defeat was the worst in the 56 games Anderson has been at the MU helm.
“When you get down by 20 points at somebody else’s place,” Lawrence said, “it’s tough to gain energy, get all over them and get stops.”
Lawrence did his best, tying his season high for three pointers (six of 11), a total of makes and misses he put up on Dec. 30 at Mississippi State.
In that game, also a loss, Lawrence finished with 28 points. Against Kansas State on Saturday, Lawrence scored 20 points.
But no other Missouri player scored more than nine points. So it really didn’t matter that Lawrence played one of his best games.
Freshman Justin Safford tried to put the best face possible on the situation.
“Whether you lose by 30 or lose by one,” Safford said, “it still is just a loss.”
Moments later, Anderson expressed that same sentiment, making it obvious that someone in the locker room had been listening.
But late Saturday it was hard to hear that message.
The roar of the Kansas State fans seemed to echo everywhere, taunting a 14-12 Mizzou team that had just experienced the on-court equivalent of their recent off-court nightmare.
Stefhon Hannah, one of five suspended after a late night at the Athena Night Club, was the only player to miss this one.
“Obviously it was a different game than it was in Columbia,” Anderson said. “We ran into a buzz saw.
“We couldn’t do anything right.”
There was no sugar-coating anything. No taking solace in Lawrence breaking out of his season-long shooting slump, if just for one night.
Anderson wants his team to put this game behind it by Monday’s practice. It will be fine if the sting begins to fade today.
But …
“With the losses, you’ve got to hurt until midnight,” Anderson said.
Missouri may be hurting a lot longer than that.