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Dennis Gates sent a message with his lineup
Caleb Grill, a Missouri basketball team captain, was not among the starters for the second straight game.
“I benched him,” Gates said. “He was mad at me.”
Mad enough for a career-night?
You bet.
Grill answered the bell time and time and time again for the Tigers with a career-high 33-points with an 8-of-10 clip from 3-point range and a game-high nine rebounds as Missouri basketball survived a plucky comeback attempt from Eastern Washington to win 84-77 on Monday in Columbia.
More: Missouri basketball score: Caleb Grill saves Mizzou in win over Eastern Washington
More: Missouri basketball has Tre Gomillion back as a graduate assistant. Here’s his journey
Grill’s game, to some extent, came out of thin air.
He was 0-of-7 from deep on the season through two games. Grill had more turnovers (nine) than he did points (six) between Missouri’s loss to Memphis and its win over Howard on Friday. In short: Grill’s spot on the bench wasn’t exactly unearned.
But how about that for a response?
“I gotta be better for the team, and then for my teammates that were out there,” Grill said. “I just credit them for making the right play, and then I just had the opportunity tonight to make shots. It’s going to be somebody else I’m going to guess on Thursday night (against Mississippi Valley State).”
Could very well be. But on Monday against Eastern Washington, it was most certainly Grill for Mizzou (2-1).
EWU started fast and, despite Grill’s gaudy numbers and some efficient offense all around from Mizzou, the Eagles just weren’t going away.
Eastern Washington (1-2) rushed out to a 12-4 lead within four minutes of the game and forced Gates into his first timeout. On the other end of the huddle, Grill checked in off the bench — where his coach had stuck him — for the first time.
Within two-and-a-half minutes, he had a 2-of-2 mark from the free throw line, a breakaway dunk and a corner 3. He finished the half with a 4-of-5 mark from 3…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/dennis-gates-benched-caleb-grill-034535426.html
Author : Columbia Daily Tribune
Publish date : 2024-11-12 03:45:00
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