COLUMBIA, Mo. (ESPN.com news services) -- Kalen Grimes had 12 points and 12 rebounds as Missouri beat Evansville 73-54 Sunday.
Missouri (9-0) didn't allow an Evansville (4-3) field goal, which missed its first seven shots, until more than five minutes into the game, as the Tigers jumped to a 19-4 lead.Three days after forcing a season-high 24 turnovers off 17 steals in a 86-64 win over Arkansas, the Tigers' pressure defense didn't seem to bother the Purple Aces in the first half. Evansville committed just six turnovers, only one coming off a Missouri steal.Missouri shot just 44 percent from the field, and just 18 percent from 3-point range.But the lackluster first-half performance from the Tigers didn't stop them from grabbing the early lead over Evansville -- thanks to some poor early shooting from the Purple Aces. Missouri led 34-26 at halftime.Grimes led four Missouri players who scored in double digits. Stefhon Hannah, Jason Horton and Darryl Butterfield each had 10 points for the Tigers.Freshman J.T. Tiller scored three straight baskets early in the second half to push the Missouri lead to 14 points. After that, the Purple Aces never got within 10 points and trailed by as many as 20.Evansville's never recovered from its poor shooting early on, as the Purple Aces shot just 28 percent from the field, including 4-for-21 from 3-point range.Kyle Anslinger, who entered the game averaging 11 points, missed all nine of his field-goal attempts, including 0-for-6 from 3-point range, and finished with two points.Bradley Strickland led Evansville with 13 points and eight rebounds. Shy Ely came off the bench to score 12 points.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
