Missouri loses at Davidson

DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Missouri coach Quin Snyder was worried about his team's lack of size going into the season. Those fears turned into a nightmare Wednesday night.

Ian Johnson had 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead Davidson to an 82-73 victory over Missouri.

Brendan Winters added 17 points for the Wildcats (4-2), who won their 11th straight home game and beat Missouri for the second straight year.

Thomas Gardner scored a career-high 30 points, including eight 3-pointers, for the Tigers (2-3), who were outrebounded 46-35 as they lost their fourth straight road game dating to last season.

"I thought we were outmanned outside," Snyder said. "Their interior guys shot 19-of-30 for the game. We're small and we need to be tougher. Offensive rebounds and the post really hurt us."

After Missouri trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half, Jimmy McKinney hit a jumper with 4:40 left to get the Tigers within 71-62. But Davidson answered by going back inside to Johnson, who hit a shot in the paint.

Davidson, which also has wins over St. Joseph's and Massachusetts, dominated the inside despite making 7-of-26 3-pointers.

The Tigers got no closer than seven points in the final minutes, spoiling the return to North Carolina for Snyder. The former Duke player was a Blue Devils assistant for five seasons under Mike Krzyzewski before taking the Missouri job seven years ago.

Missouri missed its first six shots as Davidson raced to a 10-1 lead on Kenny Grant's two free throws. The Tigers, who started 1-for-12 from the field, fell behind 21-4 on Boris Meno's layup with 10:46 left.

"It's devastating," said Gardner, who made 8-of-14 3s. "The last two road games we thought we had a chance to win and both games we had to play from behind. We have to work on that as a team and don't let teams jump on us from the beginning."

Thomas Sanders' tip-in with 1 second left gave Davidson a 40-24 halftime lead.

"It tests our mental toughness, when we miss some easy stuff early," Snyder said. "When they got that early start, I thought they got confidence they could score on us."

No. 23 UNC 75, St. Louis 63

Freshman Tyler Hansbrough scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half to lead the comeback for the Tar Heels (5-1).

Anthony Drejaj had 16 points to lead St. Louis (3-3), which led by three points at halftime.