Missouri claims opener over UTM

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Kareem Rush scored 28 points as No. 8 Missouri opened the season with a sloppy 89-63 victory over Tennessee-Martin in the first round of the Guardians Classic on Tuesday night.

Arthur Johnson added 10 rebounds and four first-half blocked shots for Missouri, which swatted away seven shots in the first half and 10 overall.

The Tigers will play Air Force, which beat Yale 68-62, in the second round of the 16-team tournament tonight at 8 p.m.

Rush, a preseason All-America who led the Big 12 with a 21-point average last season, was 8-for-15 from the field and added three assists, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Johnson, who finished with five blocks, set a school record with 65 as a freshman.

Missouri, ranked to begin the season for the first time since 1995, put Tennessee-Martin away with a 20-2 run midway through the first half. Clarence Gilbert hit three 3-pointers, one from about 5 feet beyond the arc, and Rush had eight points in the run that gave the Tigers a 31-10 lead with seven minutes remaining.

Gilbert added 19 points and was 5-for-9 from 3-point range for Missouri, which had lost its previous six games when ranked -- five against Big 12 foes. Missouri, which also got 11 points from Wesley Stokes and 10 from Rickey Paulding, has won 10 of its last 11 openers.

Tennessee-Martin missed 19 straight shots during one stretch and went 8:40 between baskets, shooting 21.6 percent in the first half and trailing 41-27. The lone points in the run came on two free throws by Jeremy Sargent.

Okechi Egbe, who averaged 13 points last season and was the Ohio Valley Conference freshman of the year, spent most of the game chasing Rush and scored six points before fouling out. Brian Foster, who also averaged 13 points last season, was held to two on 1-for-7 shooting.

Sargent had 13 points and Ned Rolsma and Jair Peralta each had 12. Sargent, who averaged 9.9 points last season, missed Tennessee-Martin's final exhibition with a pinched nerve in his lower back.

Tennessee-Martin closed to 13 points with 11:20 to go before Missouri went on a 13-4 run that made it 69-47 with just over eight minutes left.