Missouri 90, Northwest Missouri State 60 (exhibition)
Nov. 10, 2004
November 10, 2004 Game Notes Prior to the beginning of this exhibition season, in which the Tigers faced off against Central Missouri State and Northwest Missouri State, the last time Mizzou played a team from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) was their December 17, 1996 victory over NWMSU. Though this season's two exhibition wins don't count toward season or all-time series totals, the Tigers head into the 2004-05 season with a 46-23 record against teams from the state of Freshman forward Marshall Brown ended Beginning at the 9:11 mark of the first half, the Tigers sank four straight three-point field goals. Sophomore guard Thomas Gardner nailed one, junior guard Jimmy McKinney sank a pair and freshman guard Jason Horton contributed a trey of his own. The streak ended at 5:39 of the first half when Mizzou ended the half on a 10-6 run, extending their lead to 13 points, 52-39, at the half. The Tigers outscored NWMSU 20-6 in the paint, 15-3 off turnovers and 8-0 on the fast break in the first half. After having four players tally double-figures in points against Central Missouri State, five Tigers accomplished the feat tonight: sophomore forward Linas Kleiza, sophomore guard Thomas Gardner, junior guard Jimmy McKinney, senior guard Jason Conley and freshman guard Jason Horton. After shooting only 42.1% (8-19) from the free throw line in the first half, the Tigers were a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe after halftime. Sophomore forward Linas Kleiza's two offensive rebounds in the first 1:30 of play in tonight's game eclipsed the number of offensive boards he hauled in over the course of the Tigers' game against Sophomore guard Thomas Gardner's 10 first-half points are the most he's had in any Tigers game since the career-high 20 he dropped in the team's victory over UNLV on February 15, 2004. He finished the game with 19 points. Sophomore forward Linas Kleiza's 23 points would be a new career high, eclipsing the mark of 19 he set in the Tigers' last outing, if tonight's game was a regular-season contest. His three steals would also constitute a career best if the game wasn't exhibition. Sophomore forward Linas Kleiza averaged 21.0 points per game during Mizzou's 2004-05 exhibition season. Junior center Kevin Young blocked at least one shot in each of Mizzou's exhibition outings. Prior to those two games, Young hadn't blocked a shot in nine consecutive games. On a night when the team shot only 57.7% (15-26) from the free throw line, freshman forward Kalen Grimes paced the Tigers with a 4-for-4 effort on foul shots. The Bearcats, after falling down by 12 early, went on a 16-5 run that spanned 5:24 of the first half and cut the Tigers' lead to two midway through the first half. They held Mizzou without a field goal for 5:15 during that time. NWMSU was held without a field goal for 5:15 early in the second half, while Mizzou went on a 14-8 run. After shooting 46.2% from the floor in the first half, the Bearcats only converted on 29.2% of their shots from the field after the break. Sophomore guard Josh Vanderslice's layup at 18:59 of the first half were his first points in a Bearcats uniform. The Freshman guard Joel Osborn was a perfect 2-for-2 from behind the arc in the first half of his NWMSU debut, and shot a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor. Osborn finished with 11 points in his first collegiate game. Senior forward Byron Jackson pulled down three offensive rebounds for the Bearcats in tonight's contest. Last season, he led the MIAA with an average of 3.03 offensive boards per game. |
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