MU defeats Coppin St., moves to 7-0

~ The Tigers pulled away for a 98-77 nonconference victory.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Marshall Brown tied a career high Monday by scoring 21 points and Missouri (7-0) shot 50 percent from 3-point range in the second half in a 98-77 win over Coppin State.

Brown hadn't scored 20 points in a game since he had 21 against Oklahoma in January. His previous high this season was 15 points in an 89-69 win over Lipscomb on Nov. 16.

Monday, he had that beat by halftime. The junior from Austin, Texas, made his first five shots from the field and had 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting at the break.

Matt Lawrence scored 19 of his 20 points in the second half for the Tigers, most of them coming off 5-for-6 shooting from beyond the 3-point line.

Missouri led by as many as nine points in the opening half, but turnovers and poor shooting kept Coppin State (1-5) in the game. An Ethan Kennedy 3-pointer with less than five minutes remaining in the first half pulled the Eagles within one at 31-30 before the Tigers closed the half on a 13-4 run to lead 44-34 at the break.

Missouri hit just 39.5 percent of its shots in the first half, but heated up after halftime, especially from behind the 3-point line.

Lawrence, Stefhon Hannah and Brown combined to make five 3-pointers to extend Missouris lead to 19 just six minutes into the half. For the game, Missouri shot 46 percent from the field.

Hannah finished with 12 points and a career high 13 assists, and Kalen Grimes added 19 points and nine rebounds.

Tywain McKee, a preseason All-MEAC selection and the Eagles' leading scorer at 18.4 points per game, led Coppin State with 22 points. Darryl Roberts scored 14 and Antwan Harrison added 12 for the Eagles.