Dec. 2, 2011

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Marcus Denmon scored a career-high 31 points and No. 13 Missouri went on a pair of big runs in a 90-56 rout of Northwestern State on Friday night.

"We've done some things well, but we're still a hungry group," Denmon said. "I feel that starting off 7-0 is good, but it's something that we want to build on as a team. It's not something that we're satisfied with at all."

Michael Dixon also set a career high with 19 points and Ricardo Ratliffe matched his personal best with 22. The Tigers (7-0) are off to their best start since winning their first nine games during the 2006-07 season.

Missouri used runs of 18-0 and 24-8 to take control. Denmon became the first Tigers player to score 30 points in a game since 2009.

"My teammates were finding me in open spots," Denmon said. "I take those shots every day in practice. I continue to work on them, and tonight they were falling for me."

Missouri coach Frank Haith said Wednesday his team planned to attack Northwestern State forward William Mosley, who led the nation last season with 154 blocks and was third this season with 26 through seven games. Despite starting four guards, the Tigers did just that, outscoring the Demons 50-22 in the paint and outrebounding Northwestern State 40-31.

"There's a lot of great numbers in the ballgame that excite me, but one that really excited me the most was we had 50 points in the paint," Haith said. "And I think that, even though we shoot the ball really well, that balance is extremely important for our success, our ability to play inside-out."

Missouri, which leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage, shot 55 percent, three percentage points better than its season average.

"I think they were pressing and they were trying to speed us up," Ratliffe said. "But we have really good guards and if you try to press them, then more than likely they will beat the press."

James Hulbin led the Demons (4-4) with 14 points. Demetrice Jacobs and Louis Ellis added 10 apiece, while Mosley had eight points, 14 rebounds and three blocks.

Northwestern State coach Mike McConathy tried using a wave of substitutions, switching out the entire team during timeouts, but the Demons weren't able to keep pace with Missouri.

Missouri built a 29-6 lead with 12:37 remaining in the first half after an 18-0 run over 4 1/2 minutes. The Tigers were then able to push the lead to 57-31 at halftime.

Missouri picked up where it left off after the break, scoring the first 11 points during a 24-8 surge to push the lead to 45 with 11:52 left, its largest margin of the game.

"Our fans were outstanding," Haith said. "Having that sixth man is nice to have. That's one of the reasons why I'm here."

Northwestern State, picked to win the East Division of the Southland Conference, fell to 0-2 against Missouri. In the teams' only previous meeting on Nov. 20, 2005, the Tigers won 81-72 in Columbia. That victory sparked a 63-game winning streak over nonconference opponents at home, which Missouri extended Friday.