Missouri
Centenary
No. 13 Missouri Blows Out Centenary, 88-58
1/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 7, 2003
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Centenary tested Missouri's defense late in the first half. The Tigers responded for another nonconference blowout.
Rickey Paulding scored 21 points and Jimmy McKinney added 12 as No. 13 Missouri beat Centenary 88-58 on Tuesday night.
Paulding was 9-of-14 from the field as the Tigers (9-1) shot 51 percent overall. Arthur Johnson had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Missouri, his sixth double-double of the season.
After trailing by 19 points in the first half, Centenary found its way inside, scoring on several short jumpers and layups to go on runs of 7-0 and 6-0 late in the half. But Paulding and McKinney scored eight of Missouri's final 10 points of the half to help the Tigers push the lead to 10 points.
"Sometimes when they wanted to run we let up defensively," Paulding said. "We had a pretty good lead, so we started to let up. I think it's natural sometimes to ease up, but I think we did a good job of fighting through it and stopping them when they got on a roll."
After leading 45-35 at halftime, Missouri opened the second half with a 12-2 run that ended with one of McKinney's three 3-pointers.
Centenary (5-9) responded with a basket by Michael Gale and a 3-pointer from Rickey Evans, but Missouri gathered almost all of the loose balls and rebounds to keep hopes of a comeback slim. The Tigers were also unselfish, racking up 22 assists in the game, which coach Quin Snyder said fit exactly into the game plan.
"When players are that committed to the team and that concept, guys can score when they're hungry to score," Snyder said. "That's the thing about unselfishness, is it takes trust. Not just that the guy's going to make the shot, but that's he's going to do the same with you if you're open."
Evans was fouled making baskets on two straight possessions to bring Centenary within 68-48, but a 3-pointer by Ricky Clemons, Missouri's point guard, with 8:18 left gave Missouri a 23-point lead. Clemons, who averages almost 18 points a game, scored just nine points on 3-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-9 from 3-point range. He showed his frustration on the court by slapping his hands together after missing shots.
"At first I wasn't looking to shoot, but Coach pulled me aside and told me that he needed me to score for us to win the game," Clemons said. "That's when I got more aggressive on the offensive end. I think if I had been more aggressive from the beginning, the shots would've fallen faster."
Aaron Moseley scored 13 points for Centenary, which closed a winless five-game road trip.
Missouri took an 18-6 lead on a 3 by McKinney with 14:27 left in the first half and increased the lead to 34-15 with on a 3-pointer by Clemons five minutes later. Centenary then made its short run, but the Tigers defense showed its size in slowing the Gents attack.
Missouri used the size advantage to control the boards, 57-22.
"You can play great position defense, but if your guys is 6-4 and their guy is 6-9, there's only so much you can do," Centenary coach Kevin Johnson said. "We knew we were going to have to weather a storm at the beginning of the second half, and I guess we couldn't do it."
