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COLUMBIA, Mo. — For the first time in 314 days, the Missouri men’s basketball team won a game.

The Tigers beat Howard 77-62 in their home opener Friday night, snapping a losing streak that had ballooned to 20 consecutive defeats. Despite the calendar reading Nov. 8, it’s Mizzou’s first victory in the calendar year 2024.

The last time MU had won a game was on Dec. 30, 2023, a 92-59 rout of Central Arkansas.

Mizzou shot the ball poorly Friday, making only three of its 22 3-point tries. Guard Tamar Bates was the only MU player to make a 3.

He finished with 17 points, four rebounds and two assists. Forward Mark Mitchell scored 16 points and grabbed eight boards.

The Tigers let a lead that was as large as 14 points dwindle to four down the stretch, leading to a dicier finish than was expected given the difference in the programs’ statures.

“We knew that they were going to come out fighting,� MU coach Dennis Gates said.

Missouri’s performance on Friday was not all that different from how it looked against Memphis in Monday’s season-opener: The Tigers’ best moments came when forcing turnovers and pushing in transition, while generating reliable half-court offense was a struggle. Against Howard, Mizzou added the additional struggle with a frigid start from 3-point range.

MU missed its first 10 3-point attempts, not making one from deep until the final second before the halftime buzzer, when Bates’ clean stepback gave him a clean — if a little bit desperate — shot.

By that point, the hosts had built a solid but not overly comfortable 40-28 lead. The Bison, who were making their 3s at a 56% clip in the first half, closed double-digit leads to just four points at separate first-half intervals through converted perimeter looks.

Mitchell started especially strong, crossing the double-digit scoring threshold in the game’s first 14 minutes. He had 14, plus five rebounds, by the break.

Some of his success came by getting to the free throw line, which the Tigers had no trouble doing early on. After going 16 for 25 against Memphis from the charity stripe, Missouri made 26 of its 31 free throws.

“I’m excited about the growth from our last game,� Gates said. “Specifically defensively, in addition to free-throw line percentage.�

Mitchell’s impact also came through the transition looks that seem to be a vital part of how Mizzou will generate points. During one sequence, point guard Tony Perkins poked the ball free on the defensive end of the floor and took off. Mitchell trailed just behind and slammed home a lob for quick and flashy points.

Perkins, who came off the bench in the opener, made his first start for Mizzou.

A couple of freshmen made their collegiate debuts. Guard Annor Boateng started and scored the Tigers’ first points of the game, laying in a bucket after making a nicely timed cut to open himself up for a bounce pass from center Josh Gray. Boateng finished with five points, a rebound and an assist in nine minutes of action.

“Annor’s one of the most-talented freshmen I’ve coached,� Gates said. “He’s earned everything that he’s gotten. I’m not shocked about that.�

Boateng almost landed a statement dunk off a second-half alley-oop, but was fouled in the air. Freshman guard Marcus Allen also earned his first minutes, appearing in both halves.

As one would expect of a team playing Missouri, given the team’s struggles against the tactic in the season opener, Howard deployed full-court pressure early and often. It wasn’t as stifling as Memphis’ was, but still baited the Tigers into some unnecessary turnovers.

To combat the press, Perkins and fellow point guard Anthony Robinson joined forces as primary ball-handlers while three forwards — Aidan Shaw, Trent Pierce and Mitchell — made up the frontcourt. That lineup seemed to be a bit of experimentation from Gates in a setting against an inferior opponent.

He also tried something of a small-ball combination, trotting Perkins, Bates, Boateng, Caleb Grill and Shaw onto the floor at one time — four guards and a power forward.

Shaw played as MU’s de facto center for significant stretches of the game and held up — though Howard didn’t have a player taller than 6 feet 9 in its rotation, meaning the third-year forward didn’t face much of a size disadvantage.

In one second-half stretch, Shaw provided a refresher of his aerial skills by corralling a short lob from Bates and shoving it through the rim, then beating a defender in the low blocks on the next possession for points.

Missouri’s 3-point shooting didn’t improve automatically in the second half.

The Tigers missed their first four attempts from beyond the arc in that period. By the time Bates hit his second triple of the night almost nine minutes into the second half, MU seemingly had accepted that more scoring was going to have to come from the inside.

The Bison, operating around the rim themselves, put together a 14-4 run within the final 10 minutes of the game to close within four points of Missouri with four minutes and change to go.

The Tigers escaped with clutch finishes from two young guards: Allen scoring off the glass, then Robinson pivoting for a tricky bucket and free throw to restore a nine-point cushion.

Mizzou’s homestand of nonconference buy games continues Monday, when the Tigers host Eastern Washington at 6 p.m. The Eagles, who play in the Big Sky Conference, beat Seattle in their home opener but lost by 20 points to Colorado on Wednesday.