Tamar Bates scored 17 points and Mark Mitchell had 16 points and eight rebounds as the Missouri Tigers defeated the Howard Bison 77-62 Friday night in Columbia, Mo.
Anthony Robinson II added 13 points for the Tigers (1-1).
Bates hit 3-of-7 shots from 3-point range. The rest of the Tigers combined to shoot 0-for-15 from beyond the arc.
Missouri offset that by making 26 of 31 shots from the free-throw line and getting 42 points in the paint.
Marcus Dockery led the Bison (0-2) with 14 points and Bryce Harris added 11.
Howard hit 10 of 19 shots from 3-point range to keep the game close. The Bison cut their deficit to four points with 3:43 left before Missouri pulled away.
The Tigers never trailed in the game. They broke out to a 6-0 lead in the first 2:24.
The Bison didn’t score until Ose Okojie hit two free throws 6:35 into the game.
Mitchell scored eight points in the first eight minutes for the Tigers. His alley-oop dunk in transition pushed Missouri’s lead to 14-4.
Dockery rallied the Bison with a pair of 3-pointers as Howard cut its deficit to 18-14.
Missouri moved back out to a 31-19 lead when Marques Warrick converted a 3-point play off the drive to cap an 8-2 run. Bates hit a step-back 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer to give the Tigers a 40-28 lead at the break.
Aidan Shaw scored an alley-oop dunk off a fast break and scored another basket in the paint as Missouri scored six straight points to push to a 52-38 lead.
The Bison cut the Missouri lead to 61-57 with a 14-4 run fueled by a pair of Dockery 3-pointers. But the Tigers countered with a 13-2 run — triggered by a steal and 3-point play by Robinson — to finally put Howard away.
–Field Level Media
