AMES, Iowa (AP) — No. 9 Missouri was down to five players with a minute left and the host Cyclones breathing down its neck. The undermanned Tigers responded in the clutch yet again and put their only loss of the season behind them. Matt Pressey led six players in double figures with 14 points and the Tigers got past Iowa State 76-69 on Wednesday night. Phil Pressey and Ricardo Ratliffe each added 12 points for the Tigers (15-1, 2-1 Big 12), who bounced back from a 75-59 loss at Kansas State with a team effort — even though that team normally uses only seven players. The only Missouri player to fall short of 10 points was leading scorer Marcus Denmon. But he had a game-high seven assists and four crucial free throws in the final 21 seconds after Kim English and Steve Moore had fouled out. Missouri pushed a four-point lead to 72-66 on Ratliffe’s hook shot with 32 seconds left. Iowa State’s Chris Allen responded with a quick 3, but Denmon put the Cyclones away at the line. Scott Christopherson had 19 points and Allen scored 17 for Iowa State (12-4, 2-1), which lost for the first time in eight games. Royce White finished with 16 points and six rebounds, but he was just 2 of 8 from the free throw line. The Cyclones were outrebounded 38-27, hit only four 3s in the second half and went 13 of 25 from the line. The Cyclones were also outscored 40-20 in the paint by Missouri.

Iowa State entered play with its first 2-0 start in the Big 12 in five years, and a win would have given them a 3-0 record in the league for the first time since 2000. Hilton Coliseum certainly anticipated a big night for the program, with a near-sellout crowd into things from the opening tip. But by letting the Tigers off the hook, the Cyclones were reminded that wins against the Big 12’s elite are nearly impossible if they make as many mistakes as they did against Missouri.