Nov. 6, 2001
Columbia, Mo. - The University of Missouri (#8 A.P., #9 ESPN) men's basketball team closed out its 2001-02 exhibition season Tuesday with an 88-68 win over the Illinois All-Stars.
Three Tigers scored over 20 points on the night, as Kareem Rush (23 pts), Clarence Gilbert (23) and Wesley Stokes (22) each hit the mark.
Rush, who was named a pre-season first team All-American by the Associated Press today, came out firing on all cylinders. He scored 17 points in the first half, as the Tigers took a 47-37 halftime lead. The Kansas City, Mo. native was held in check offensively in the second half, but finished the night with his second straight double-double of the pre-season, as he added 12 rebounds to his scoring total, along with four assists.
The All-Stars, who were coached by former Tiger great Byron Irvin, hung around after Mizzou established a 17-point lead after a Stokes layin made it 56-39 with 15:53 left in the game. By the 7:19 mark, the lead had been cut to 68-63 after a jumper by Irvin's brother, McGlother. But Gilbert answered with three three pointers in a span of 3:36, which helped put MU up by an 84-68 margin with 3:24 left.
Gilbert finished the night 7-of-11 from the three-point line, and added eight rebounds. Stokes looked very good running the show in his 37 minutes of play, as he added seven assists to his 22 points.
Missouri outrebounded Illinois by a 56-39 margin, and held the visitors to just 36.5% from the floor.
The Tigers will have one week to prepare for its season opener. Missouri gets the 2001-02 regular season underway next Tuesday when they host first and second round games of the inaugural NABC Guardians Classic. Missouri matches up with Tennessee-Martin at 8 p.m. Tuesday night at the Hearnes Center, while Air Force and Yale play at 5:30 that night. The winners meet Wednesday at 8 p.m. to determine who advances to Kansas City the next week for the tournament semifinals and finals.
Tickets are available for the Missouri regional next week. For information, call the MU Ticket Office at 884-PAWS or 1-800-CAT-PAWS.