COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Men's Basketball cruised to a 65-45 win over the UT Arlington Mavericks on Tuesday evening at Mizzou Arena. After digging in on defense early in the ballgame by forcing seven turnovers in the game's opening five and a half minutes, the Tigers' offense built an early lead and continued to pull away thanks to a balanced scoring attack. Sophomore forward Jeremiah Tilmon registered his second double-double of the season by dropping in 10 points and matching a career-high with 12 rebounds.

Mizzou's defensive attack never let up, eventually forcing 21 turnovers in the game. UT Arlington's 21 turnovers were the most by a Mizzou opponent since the Tigers forced 21 against Arkansas Pine Bluff on December 19, 2015.

Offensively, Mizzou's crop of talented freshmen assembled their best game as a group so far this season, totaling 29 combined points. Freshman guard Torrence Watson totaled a career-high 12 points while drilling three triples, freshman guard Javon Pickett posted 10 points and sank a pair from distance, and freshman guard Xavier Pinson added seven points while dishing out a pair of assists and grabbing a steal. The group's 29 points were the most by Mizzou's freshmen in a single game this season.

TURNING POINT

Mizzou benefited from plenty of stifling defense during the first half of play, forcing more turnovers than UT Arlington had totaled points during the early going. Pickett led the scoring charge early on, captaining Mizzou's first half offense with 10 points in the first period, the largest scoring total for the freshman in a single half this season. His back-to-back treys to begin the game opened a 6-2 lead for the Tigers.

Watson also found his stroke from behind the arc in the first half, sinking a three with 5:37 left in the half to cap a 15-4 run and stretch the Tigers' lead to 26-14.

After senior guard Jordan Geist's buzzer-beating three that sent the Tigers into overtime in a win on Sunday afternoon against UCF, sophomore forward Mitchell Smith decided to join the trend. Smith drilled a three from the left wing to beat the horn to give Mizzou a 37-21 advantage at the half.

TOP TIGERS

• Tilmon collected his second double-double of the season and matched a career-high with 12 boards.
• Watson totaled a career-high 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and a 3-of-6 clip from distance.
• Pickett contributed 10 points and posted his second game with multiple threes this season, hitting a pair of triples to get the Tigers' offense rolling early on.

GAME NOTES

• Mizzou's defense was dominant against UT Arlington, holding the Mavericks to just 45 points. The last time the Tigers held an opponent under 50 came in 2016, when they held Alabama A&M to just 44 points (11/13/16). The 45 points were UT Arlington's fewest in a game this season.
• Mizzou forced 21 turnovers. That is the most Mizzou has forced since the Tigers forced 21 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 2015 (12/29/15). It is the most turnovers forced in the Martin era.
• Mizzou also won by a 20-point margin, its largest since December of 2017 when the Tigers beat North Florida 85-51 (12/16/17).

UP NEXT

The Tigers are back at Mizzou Arena later this week as they take on Oral Roberts on Friday night at 6 p.m. Friday's game will air on SEC Network.

For all the latest on Mizzou Basketball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@MizzouHoops).