Mizzou overcomes slow start to blow out Grambling State

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Arthur Johnson had 16 points and 10 rebounds as No. 3 Missouri overcame a sluggish first half to beat Grambling State 100-76 Saturday.

Missouri (7-0) shot 34 percent in the first half and led only 36-29. The Tigers, playing their second straight game against Southwestern Athletic Conference competition, shot 55 percent the rest of the way as Johnson scored 13 points en route to his second straight double-double.

Johnson had identical totals in a victory over Jackson State on Thursday.

Clarence Gilbert shot his way through a 1-for-11 start, finishing with 20 points, and Kareem Rush had 17 points and seven rebounds for Missouri.

Gilbert missed his first nine shots, including an air ball, and didn't have a basket until he made a layup with 16:39 to play, and ended up 4-for-15 and 10-for-12 from the line.

Paul Haynes scored 25 points and Jamel Gooding had 21 points and five assists for Grambling State (1-5), which has lost five in a row since beating Wiley in its opener. All of the losses have come on the road.

William McDonald added 14 points for the losers, playing at Missouri for only the second time and the first time since a 90-51 loss Dec. 22, 1990.

Missouri led only 36-32 after Haynes hit a 3-pointer with 19:19 to go. In the next six minutes, the Tigers outscored Grambling 22-7.

Johnson, quiet in the first half with three points, scored seven in the run and had a steal as Missouri, which hit nine of 11 shots in one stretch, took a 58-39 lead with 13:19 remaining.

Missouri shot just 34 percent in the first half with a too-heavy emphasis on the outside shot, going 5-for-16 from 3-point range and 7-for-19 inside the arc. The Tigers had almost no cushion before Rush hit a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining.

This, despite outrebounding Grambling 23-13 and holding the visitors to one offensive rebound.