Benched Bryant leads Tigers past Memphis

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri coach Quin Snyder got exactly what he wanted by bumping Travon Bryant from the starting five.

Bryant, benched in favor of Jeffrey Ferguson because of defensive lapses, tied his career high with 14 points and had six rebounds in 16 minutes as No. 11 Missouri beat Memphis 93-78 on Saturday.

"What it's about is playing every play," Snyder said. "He's a great kid, and he responded."

Bryant, a junior, had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in Missouri's victory over Wisconsin-Green Bay. But Snyder told him earlier this week that he wouldn't be starting because he wasn't giving full effort on both ends of the court.

"I had to go out there and show him, and I've got to do it day-in and day-out," Bryant said. "If you don't do the things he wants you to do, he's got different options."

Bryant had three dunks, including one in Missouri's opening 15-0 run. His basket made it 12-0, and he rubbed it in to some Memphis players who had been complaining that his school got an NCAA bid that Memphis deserved last spring.

Missouri went to the Elite Eight, while Memphis won the NIT.

"We kind of sent a message to them that it's going to be a long day," Bryant said. "I guess it was."

Arthur Johnson had 23 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double in the first six games, and also closed in on the school shot-blocking record for Missouri (6-0).

Johnson, a 6-foot-9 junior, blocked two shots, and Missouri had seven blocks overall. Johnson needs three more to tie the career record of 149 by Steve Stipanovich.

"It's just something I'm going to get on my journey through Missouri," Johnson said. "I want to break a lot of records, and hopefully I do before I leave here."

Missouri was strong defensively, holding Memphis to 37 percent shooting. Five of the Tigers' first six opponents have shot under 40 percent.

"That was what I call a butt-whipping," Memphis coach John Calipari said. "The most disappointing thing for me is that we hadchances to get into the game and we wouldn't rebound the ball."

Rickey Paulding scored 15 of his 22 points in two crucial sequences for Missouri. He had nine points in a 15-0 run to open the game, then made a pair of 3-pointers in 26-second span early in the second half as Missouri regained control with a 13-4 run.

"We had great pressure on the ball and got a lot of energy from our guys and from the crowd," Paulding said of the first run. "We came out in the second half and tried to do what we did in the first half, but it wasn't like that start."

Memphis (4-2) had narrowed the gap to eight at halftime with a 10-0 run.

Ricky Clemons added 16 points and six assists in Missouri's balanced attack and freshman Jimmy McKinney had 13 points.

John Grice had 12 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis, which got a game-high 22 points from reserve Billy Richmond -- most after the game was settled. Antonio Burks added 15 points and five assists, but fouled out with 8:42 to go.

Memphis committed four turnovers and missed four shots in Missouri's opening blitz and never recovered.

"They came out playing so aggressive," Burks said. "We had a lot of guys on the court playing a little soft and we got in a hole."

The game was a lot closer than comparative scores against Austin Peay, however. Missouri routed Austin Peay 81-46 last month, eight days after Austin Peay upset Memphis 81-80.

Memphis had won its three previous games over Furman, Arkansas-Little Rock and Arkansas-Pine Bluff by an average of 22 points.