Nov. 19, 1999
By R.B. FALLSTROM
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Keyon Dooling scored all of his 15 points in the second half as Missouri avoided an upset in new coach Quin Snyder's first home game, coming from behind to beat North Carolina-Asheville 75-69 Friday night.
The Tigers (2-1) rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit the hard way, shooting only 38.9 percent and getting outrebounded 44-28. Freshman Kareem Rush led Missouri with 16 points and T.J. Soyoe had 12 points and six rebounds.
John Risinger had 18 of his 22 points in the first half for North Carolina-Ashville, which shot 62.5 percent in the first half and 53 percent overall in its opener. Brandon Carter added 16 points.
There were hundreds of empty seats in the Hearnes Center as Missouri played its first regular-season game at home since Norm Stewart retired after 32 years last spring. Missouri, which shot 48 percent in the second half, is 82-12 in home openers and has won 26 in a row.
Dooling, who averaged 20 points the first two games, drew two early fouls and played nine minutes in the first half. Without him, Missouri was lost.
North Carolina-Asheville also outrebounded Missouri 22-10 in the first half to take a 42-33 lead. The Bulldogs led by as many as 10 points.
Missouri began the second half on a 14-4 run, including seven points by Dooling, and took the lead for the first time since early in the game on a 3-pointer by Johnnie Parker with 15:50 to go.
The lead see-sawed for several minutes, but Missouri led by as many as eight points at 70-62 after a dunk and three-point play by Jeff Hafer with 3:12 to go.
Clarence Gilbert added 12 points for Missouri, all but one in the first half, and Jeff Hafer had 10. The Tigers were 26-for-41 from the free-throw line, while North Carolina-Asheville was 12-for-23.
North Carolina-Asheville has never beaten a team from the Big 12 in five chances, but this was by far its best performance. The Bulldogs are playing eight of their first nine games on the road, with Saint Louis, Tennessee, national champion Connecticut and Kentucky coming up.