51ºÚÁÏ

LAWRENCE, Kan. — The last time the Missouri men’s basketball team won a game in Phog Allen Fieldhouse, 35 cents could buy you a stamp or a share of Apple stock.

A lot has changed since that Border War victory on Jan. 24, 1999. Now, an Apple share goes for $200 or so and the price of a stamp has doubled to 66 cents. The new millennium hasn’t done much to inflate the Tigers’ prospects of winning in the Phog, though, and Saturday’s 73-64 loss to No. 2 Kansas in Lawrence showed that.

While jumbotron antics questioned everything from Missouri’s statehood to its past performances against KU, the Tigers opened the game with a 14-minute firestorm.

After taking a 3-2 lead on a 3 from point guard Nick Honor, the Tigers held onto an advantage for just over 14 minutes, raising eyebrows and pulses by pushing one of the nation’s top teams before crumbling in a span at the end of the first half and beginning of the second.

“I’m proud of those 14 minutes, though,� MU coach Dennis Gates said. “Very proud. I thought they were an excellent 14 minutes. We were able to silence the crowd a little bit.�

Mizzou’s time in the lead included a statement 3 from guard Tamar Bates that forced KU coach Bill Self to call timeout while trailing 15-6. The Tigers survived a stretch of rivalry game edginess and back-and-forth to lead by six points with six minutes to go in the first half.

Honor and point guard Sean East II, who finished with 17 and 21 points respectively, led the first-half charge.

“I feel like we’re two guys who can create for ourselves and others,� Honor said. “I feel like we were doing that well. … It was a good 14 minutes, but we got to learn how to play for that full 40.�

Then came three quick buckets for the Jayhawks, erasing the deficit. Missouri center Connor Vanover provided a two-point Band-Aid, putting the Tigers up 29-27 with 4:26 left in the first half. When the clock showed zeroes at halftime, Kansas was ahead 41-29 after a 14-0 run to close the half.

“It’s simple. They scored, we didn’t,� Gates said. “But the other part of it is, the majority of their points were in the paint. We fouled some 3-point shooters, which are things you can’t do — especially on the road against anyone.�

By that point, the game was functionally decided. Despite managing to cut the Jayhawks’ lead to single digits eight times in the second half — an East layup as time expired meant little else besides keeping the margin of defeat to a single character — there wasn’t much threat of a comeback from Missouri.

Forward Aidan Shaw started and played 13 first-half minutes for MU, often guarding Hunter Dickinson, KU’s dominant center. The big man managed only two points in the first half, not scoring for the first 13 minutes of the game, in part because of Shaw’s defense.

But Missouri’s second-year wing saw only nine minutes of action in the second half, sitting through a critical stretch that could have been the foundation for a comeback and saw Dickinson make five of his seven shots after the half.

Part of why Shaw wasn’t on the floor had to do with his rebounding, or lack thereof.

“Not enough rebounds,� Gates said. “He didn’t give me enough rebounds. He had two offensive rebounds and one defensive. That’s not acceptable. In 22 minutes (of total time in the game), three rebounds, that’s one rebound every seven minutes. He needs to be (getting) one rebound every three. So it’s not excellent, I’m not happy with that performance. I am happy with his shot-blocking. I thought he ran down and changed some shots, he had a steal. But when it comes down to the rebounding per minute, it wasn’t where it needed to be.�

Kansas didn’t score from the field in the final 4:52, partially a byproduct of Mizzou intentionally fouling late in the game. The Jayhawks survived at the free throw line in those moments, finishing 20 for 23 at the stripe.

MU, meanwhile, didn’t shoot a free throw until the second half and went only nine for 13 at the line — a recurring theme of Missouri’s season.

“They did a great job of getting to the free throw line,� Gates said. “We shot zero free throws in the first half. I thought the game was physical enough where at least we could’ve come away with one or two. That would’ve broke the momentum in that last five minutes, but it didn’t.�

Those points in the paint — Gates combined free throws and field goals for 62 allowed around the rim. Kansas won despite making just three 3-pointers.

MU won’t play again until a week from Sunday, when it faces Seton Hall in Kansas City .

The Tigers will be without guard Caleb Grill, who missed Saturday’s game, too. He is expected to be sidelined five to seven weeks with a wrist injury.

The injury required surgery, which Grill successfully underwent earlier in the week, and stems from a hard fall that the Iowa State transfer suffered during a Dec. 3 win over Wichita State.

Grill has averaged 8.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, making him the team’s second-leading rebounder. Guards Tamar Bates, Curt Lewis and John Tonje are Grill’s likely fill-ins.

Tonje, though, hasn’t played in the Tigers’ last four games, including the loss to Kansas. His status is the “same as it’s always been,� Gates said Thursday.

A five-to-seven-week timeframe for Grill’s return would bring him back early in Mizzou’s Southeastern Conference slate.