MU starts slowly in win over UMKC

~ The Tigers posted a 60-42 victory in their first meeting with the Kangaroos.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The first meeting between Missouri and the Missouri-Kansas City wasn't pretty Tuesday, as the Tigers came away with a 60-42 win over the Mid-Continent Conference school.

Thomas Gardner led the Tigers (2-1) with 17 points and 11 rebounds in a game in which neither team made it to double figures until more than 12 minutes had elapsed.

"The numbers are amazing actually," UMKC coach Rich Zvosec said. "If you would have told me yesterday that we would hold them to 32 percent [shooting] and force them into 20 turnovers and only allow 60 points, I would have bet the ranch it would have come down to the wire."

But it never was all that close. The Kangaroos (2-1) committed 14 turnovers and shot 24 percent from the field, including 13 percent from behind the 3-point line. Both teams had entered the game shooting 48 percent.

"I tell you, we could not throw the ball into the ocean tonight," Zvosec said. "If you come in on the road, you've got to make shots."

UMKC's struggles were most evident in the play of Quinton Day and Tim Blackwell. Day entered the game averaging 27.5 points, but was held to only seven on 2-for-14 shooting -- including 0-for-6 from beyond the arc. Blackwell finished with 10 points, but committed six turnovers.

"Those are some of the best guards we'll see all year, and we did a good job against them," Missouri coach Quin Snyder said.

Marshall Brown had 12 points and six rebounds for the Tigers, while Dee Ayuba led UMKC with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Day was in disbelief.

"We've been looking forward to this game for a long time, and we just came out and we couldn't hit shots," he said.

After taking a 24-15 halftime lead, Missouri pushed the lead to as many as 25 down the stretch.