University of Missouri
Grambling
Missouri Downs Grambling St., 100-76
12/1/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec 1, 2001
By R.B. FALLSTROM
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Playing a pair of lower Division I schools was good for Arthur Johnson's bottom line.
Johnson had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the second straight game as No. 3 Missouri overcame a sluggish first half to beat Grambling State 100-76 Saturday. He did the same thing to Jackson State on Thursday.
"That's a goal of mine," Johnson said. "Every time I do it I'm not satisfied, but I know I accomplished something."
Missouri (7-0) shot 34 percent in the first half and led only 36-29. The Tigers, playing their second straight game against Southwestern Athletic Conference competition, shot 55 percent the rest of the way as Johnson scored 13 second-half points en route to his second straight double-double.
"I don't think we came out in the first half with the energy and enthusiasm we need offensively," coach Quin Snyder said. "In the second half we were much more efficient."
Clarence Gilbert shot his way through a 1-for-11 start, finishing with 20 points, and Kareem Rush had 17 points and seven rebounds for Missouri.
Gilbert missed his first nine shots, including an air ball, and didn't have a basket until he made a layup with 16:39 to play, and ended up 4-for-15 and 10-for-12 from the line.
"It was a struggle from the beginning," Gilbert said. "It wasn't like I was taking bad shots - I was taking good shots - but things just weren't going down.
"I just stayed with it, and you just find your way back into the mix."
Paul Haynes scored 25 points and Jamel Gooding had 21 points and five assists for Grambling State (1-5), which has lost five in a row since beating Wiley in its opener. All of the losses have come on the road and Grambling also gave up triple digits in a 102-64 loss at Creighton on Thursday.
"When you're a smaller Division I program, you play these games to get some exposure for the kids," said coach Larry Wright, 10-53 in his third season. "We think exposure like this will help us when we get into our conference schedule."
William McDonald added 14 points for the losers, playing at Missouri for only the second time and the first time since a 90-51 loss Dec. 22, 1990.
"We started out matching their intensity, but we got worn down," Haynes said. "They're so deep."
Missouri led only 36-32 after Haynes hit a 3-pointer with 19:19 to go. In the next six minutes, the Tigers outscored Grambling 22-7.
Johnson, quiet in the first half with three points, scored seven in the run and had a steal as Missouri, which hit nine of 11 shots in one stretch, took a 58-39 lead with 13:19 remaining. Snyder said he took Johnson aside at the break and told him he wanted more.
"It's a sign of maturity when you can go after a guy, like A.J., and say 'Give me something,"' Snyder said. "For him to come out and have the second half he had, that's why you get on him."
Missouri shot just 34 percent in the first half with a too-heavy emphasis on the outside shot, going 5-for-16 from 3-point range and 7-for-19 inside the arc. The Tigers had almost no cushion before Rush hit a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining.
This, despite outrebounding Grambling 23-13 and holding the visitors to one offensive rebound.
