Tigers thump overmatched Centenary

Missouri improves to 9-1 with 88-58 victory.

The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Centenary tested Missouri's defense late in the first half. The Tigers responded for another nonconference blowout.

Rickey Paulding scored 21 points and Jimmy McKinney added 12 as No. 13 Missouri beat Centenary 88-58 on Tuesday night.

Paulding was 9-of-14 from the field as the Tigers (9-1) shot 51 percent overall. Arthur Johnson had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Missouri, his sixth double-double of the season.

After trailing by 19 points in the first half, Centenary found its way inside, scoring on several short jumpers and layups to go on runs of 7-0 and 6-0 late in the half. But Paulding and McKinney scored eight of Missouri's final 10 points of the half to help the Tigers push the lead to 10 points.

"Sometimes when they wanted to run we let up defensively," Paulding said. "We had a pretty good lead, so we started to let up. I think it's natural sometimes to ease up, but I think we did a good job of fighting through it and stopping them when they got on a roll."

After leading 45-35 at halftime, Missouri opened the second half with a 12-2 run that ended with one of McKinney's three 3-pointers.

Centenary (5-9) responded with a basket by Michael Gale and a 3-pointer from Rickey Evans, but Missouri gathered almost all of the loose balls and rebounds to keep hopes of a comeback slim. The Tigers were also unselfish, racking up 22 assists in the game, which coach Quin Snyder said fit exactly into the game plan.

"When players are that committed to the team and that concept, guys can score when they're hungry to score," Snyder said. "That's the thing about unselfishness, is it takes trust. Not just that the guy's going to make the shot, but that's he's going to do the same with you if you're open."

Aaron Moseley scored 13 points for Centenary, which closed a winless five-game road trip.

Missouri used the size advantage to control the boards, 57-22.

"You can play great position defense, but if your guys is 6-4 and their guy is 6-9, there's only so much you can do," Centenary coach Kevin Johnson said. "We knew we were going to have to weather a storm at the beginning of the second half, and I guess we couldn't do it."