Tennessee avoided a disastrous loss Tuesday.

That was one a couple of positive takeaways from the No. 5 Vols' latest trip to Columbia. The second half performances of Dalton Knecht, Jonas Aidoo and Tobe Awaka were the others.

After a forgettable first half, the trio helped Tennessee erase a halftime deficit and give Tennessee the lead for good with less than eight minutes left to beat the SEC's last-placed Missouri Tigers, 72-64 at Mizzou Arena.

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Fresh off of arguably its most complete offensive performance of the season in a 35-point dismantling of Vanderbilt, the Vols (20-6, 10-3 SEC) were abysmal in the first 20 minutes, not scoring their field goal until more than four minutes in and 0-for-9 from deep.

They flipped the script in the second half as Awaka recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Knecht spearheaded Tennessee's comeback with 17 points. Aidoo scored 14.

Tennessee shot 62.5% from three-point range in the second half.

Missouri (8-18, 0-13) was paced in scoring by Sean East II, who tallied 24 points. Noah Carter scored 20 and Nick Honor finished with 10.

Missouri's efforts to get Tennessee to play at its pace worked early.

It took the Vols nearly five minutes for their first basket after turning the ball over three times and going 0-for-6 shooting before Jordan Gainey scored on a transition dunk off of a Tigers' turnover to go up 2-1.

Gainey's score did little to cure Tennessee's early offensive woes. A pair of Zakai Zeigler free throws put the Vols up two, but both teams went scoreless for another four-plus minute stretch as the midway point of the half approached.

Jahmai Mashack ended Tennessee's drought with a jumper that he was fouled on. His free throw put the Vols up 7-2 with 11 minutes, 54 seconds left in the half.

Missouri started 0-for-11 from the field, but Bates' 3-pointer pulled the Tigers within two at 7-5. It opened the way for sudden offensive explosion as the two teams traded baskets, but it was short-lived.

The sloppy play settled back in as Tennessee managed to stay ahead only with free throws and Missouri's inability to score. East's 3-pointer cut the Tigers' deficit to one at 11-10.

Missouri hit three-straight field goal attempts to match Tennessee and reclaimed the lead three times, pulling ahead 16-15 off an East jumper with just over six minutes to go until halftime.

Zeigler answered, turning the Tigers' eighth turnover of the half into a score to lead 17-16. Awaka free throws stretch that advantage to 19-16, but Tennessee followed it by going more than three and a half minutes without a basket.

Meanwhile, Missouri took its biggest lead of the half at 27-22 with a deep 3-pointer from East. Awaka scored on back-to-back possessions to get Tennessee back within one, though Missouri went into the intermission leading 29-26.

The Tigers rattled off a 6-0 run early in the second to swell their lead to 38-31 behind three made 3-pointers just minutes in. Aidoo tipped in a ball to get back within five, providing Tennessee with a much-needed score.

Missouri foul trouble kept Tennessee within striking distance and Knecht, who didn't record a field goal in the first 20 minutes, hit two to get the Vols within a possession and paving the way for Aidoo to even the score at 46-46 with 12 minutes, six seconds left.

Knecht gave Tennessee its first lead since the first half, banking in a shot to go up 50-49 with just over 10 minutes remaining. His 3-pointer a few possessions later opened up a 53-49 lead for the Vols.

Knecht all but landed the knockout blow with a 3-pointer fired from the edge of the Missouri state outline to give Tennessee a 60-52 advantage and the Tigers were never able to catch up.

.Zeigler reached double scoring figures with a three that pushed Tennessee back to nine following a Missouri score and Awaka went 2-for-2 at the free throw line to give the Vols their first double-digit lead at 65-54 with five minutes, 44 seconds left.

Missouri got within 10 with around a minute to go after Tennessee with three minutes without a field goal but the Vols were a little too out of reach at that point.

After taking commanding leads early in its last two road tilts, forgetting Knecht's ability to take over games down the stretch would have been understandable.

Just incase, though, he provided a reminder when Tennessee needed it most.

Not only did the Vols trail at halftime, Missouri's offense was heating up in the early-going of the second and extending that lead before Knecht took over.

Knecht had just 2 points at the half, which came from free throws. He notched his first field goal with 13 minutes, 18 seconds left in the game but he piled on from there with 15 second half points that put Tennessee in front for good.

Knecht had a strong supporting cast in the paint that helped. Aidoo further asserted his dominance on the inside while Awaka put together one of the best performances of the season.

Tennessee returns to Knoxville on Saturday with revenge likely on its mind.

The Vols host Texas A&M, which handed them a loss in College Station just two weeks ago behind season-high three-point shooting. Tennessee never led in the 85-69 upset loss.

The Aggies have lost two-straight games since, falling to Vanderbilt at the buzzer and losing by 25 to Alabama last week. Texas A&M played Arkansas on Tuesday.

Tip-off between the Vols and Aggies at Food City Center is set for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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