Missouri men's basketball defeats Arkansas Pine Bluff 101-79 in first game

Mizzou MBB defeats UAPB to open season

COLUMBIA - From the buzzer-beater winners to the prolific offense a season ago, Missouri fans are hoping for an encore in year two under Head Coach Dennis Gates. They got the latter in the season opener against Arkansas Pine Bluff on Monday evening, cruising to a 101-79 win. 

Kim Anderson was at the helm the last time the Tigers and Golden Lions played one another. UAPB lost that contest 78-25. Prior to the 2015 meeting, Missouri and Arkansas Pine Bluff met yearly from 2008 to 2010. 

In Gates' first season at the helm, the Tigers struggled to pull away early on against Southern Indiana and Penn in their first two games. This season the offense was in a groove from the jump, despite missing Connor Vanover.

Vanover will miss the first three games due to attending an invitational event this past spring that was only for NBA Draft-eligible players. 

Missouri started fast, with Sean East II knocking down two three-pointers, giving the Tigers a 6-0 lead before the Golden Lions had even scored a point. Nearly five minutes into the game, the Tigers held a 12-3 lead. 

"We were going to have to build this culture up with new guys coming," East said. "We were going to push the new culture on everybody."

Joe French began to get hot for the Golden Lions, as he had 13 points at the under-eight-minute timeout to lead all scorers. East continued his strong first half with 12 points of his own at the time, helping give Missouri a 35-24 lead. 

"We want to be able to put pressure on both sides of the basketball," Gates said. 

The closest Arkansas Pine Bluff got in the game came with just over 4:30 to go in the first half when they trailed 39-33. The Tigers managed a strong end to the half that included an 8-2 run and a 57-40 lead heading into the locker room. Newcomer Tamar Bates had multiple baskets late in the half and finished the first 20 minutes with 13 points. 

"We always have fresh legs out there," Bates said. "That's what we see in practice, and it translates into the game."

The Tigers' offensive attack didn't stop in the second half either, as they went on a 23-10 run, capped off by a Jordan Butler dunk for his first points of the season.  Caleb Grill and Bates each had dunks of their own to bring the crowd to their feet, and when it was all said and done Missouri had a 22-point victory.

"I just thought our guys, our depth, we did it by committee," Gates said. "It's the fortunate part of having unselfishness in your program."

Missouri's leading scorer was East, who had 21 points while shooting seven for eight from the field. Four other Tigers finished in double digits, as Bates and Nick Honor both had 18 points, and Grill and Noah Carter both had 15 points. 

Missouri will look to make it back-to-back wins to open the season on Friday when they host Memphis. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.