Missouri beats Oral Roberts 78-64

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Montaque Gill-Caesar scored 19 points and Wes Clark added 14 points and nine assists to lead Missouri past Oral Roberts 78-64 on Wednesday night.

Despite trailing for most of the first 27 minutes, the Tigers (2-1) scored six consecutive points to take a 58-52 advantage with 10:51 remaining. Missouri then used an 8-0 run capped by a 3-pointer by Deuce Bello with 3 minutes left for a 73-62 lead.

Oral Roberts (1-1) would get no closer than 10 the rest of the way.

The Golden Eagles' Obi Emegano scored a career-high 30 points while Korey Billbury added eight points and 10 rebounds.

Gill-Caesar now leads Missouri with 16.3 points per game as one of four freshmen to play for first-year coach Kim Anderson. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound guard from Vaughan, Ontario, attended high school at Huntington Prep in West Virginia for new Missouri assistant Rob Fulford.

He finished with 5-of-11 shooting from the field, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

The teams combined for 49 fouls and 64 free throws, but despite the game's slow pace, both schools shot over 40 percent for the game. Oral Roberts converted 13 of its 20 shots from the field in the first half, including its first eight attempts, but made only 5 of 24 in the closing 20 minutes.

Foul trouble sidelined Emegano's torrid start as he scored 18 points in the opening 7 minutes before collecting two fouls in the following 30 seconds. He sat out the remainder of the half and scored 12 after the break, but never could match his early pace.

Emegano led the team with 26 points in its season opener and averaged 19 points in four games last season before tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament.

Missouri shot 25 of 49 from the field, including 12 of 21 from behind the arc. Despite being the larger team, though, the Tigers only outrebounded Oral Roberts 32-31 and converted eight fewer free throws.

Tip-ins

ORAL ROBERTS: Under 16th-year coach Scott Sutton, the Golden Eagles were picked to finish third in the Summit League preseason poll by coaches, staff and media. The team returned to the conference after playing its last two seasons in the Southland Conference.

MISSOURI: Freshman Jakeenan Gant missed his third consecutive game while the school reviews his eligibility.

Up next

Oral Roberts plays at Oregon State on Friday.

Missouri plays Arizona on Monday in the EA Sports Maui Invitational in Hawaii.