Dennis Gates praises less-heralded players in Arkansas victory

The Missouri Tigers got a much-needed win over the Arkansas Razorbacks on Wednesday night. After the game, Tigers head coach Dennis Gates praised several under-the-radar players for their performance in the victory.

Gates, while speaking to the SEC Network’s postgame broadcast, started by praising Aidan Shaw.

“I thought the player of the game was Aidan Shaw, man,” Dennis Gates said. “To be able to get a DNP, come in in this first half and hit those two threes, that took a lot of confidence, and I’m proud of him.”

A freshman, Shaw is averaging 3.6 points per game this season. He about doubled that with seven points against Arkansas. Meanwhile, Isiaih Mosley about matched his average production, scoring eight points against Arkansas.

“And I credit Isiaih Mosely as well, being prepared to play. … He had a great, great two weeks of basketball, and I thought his teammates encouraged him,” Gates continued. “They were able to get him going, and he got us going in that first half when we couldn’t manufacture offense. Ultimately I think his teammates deserve the credit, but also himself.”

From there, Dennis Gates moved on to praising DeAndre Gholston.

“Big-time. He was vocal in the huddle, and I knew he had ice-water in his veins. He was ending up, the and-one was crucial, but that’s his shot.”

Dennis Gates on the importance of beating Arkansas

After the game, Dennis Gates spoke about the importance of getting a win over Arkansas.

“I just knew both teams were in desperation for a win. They were on a three-game losing streak, we were on a two-game losing streak. You want to be able to split when you have home and away games, and we needed this game,” Gates said.

“We didn’t blink. That’s our philosophy: Don’t blink. Our guys were able to stay focused on the game, and I truly believe — we were down seven, six points and our guys just kept encouraging each other. It’s usually the words that are being said, and our guys said some powerful words.”