Missouri breezes past Northwest 91-58

The curtain went up on Missouri's basketball premiere as a Southeastern Conference affiliate Monday night, and it didn't take long for the Tigers to turn Northwest Missouri into Opening Night stage props.

It was all Missouri when it counted as the Tigers came out blazing in an 91-58 victory and looked every bit the part of a No. 15-ranked ballclub that's looking to make a mark in the SEC and atone for last year's stunning first-round loss to Norfolk State in the NCAA Tournament.

The Bearcats can simply take solace in the notion that it can't get any tougher than what they faced against the long, strong and exceptionally quick Tigers, who burst to a 25-3 lead nine minutes in and coasted the rest of the way.

The Tigers, even without suspended starting guard Michael Dixon, could do nothing wrong at the outset. It was as though all the pent-up frustration from that Norfolk State shocker last March was released at Northwest's expense.

"We just didn't play hard to start the game," Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. "We played scared to death. Not only are you out-talented considerably, but if you don't play hard, it becomes that much worse and it's a snowball effect. We couldn't stop the bleeding."

Missouri, ignited by preseason SEC Player of the Year Phil Pressey (11 assists), was 9-of-10 from the floor through the opening nine minutes while the Bearcats were 1-of-13. Only a three-pointer by Alex Sullivan saved the Bearcats from a shutout at that juncture.

Once the subs began to flood the court, Northwest Missouri finally settled in a bit. But even with a trio of three-pointers by Sullivan and a couple of strong moves inside by Kyle Schlake, the Bearcats were down 53-21 at the half. Northwest steadied itself and played a much better second half, as the Tigers outscored Northwest by just one point over the final 20 minutes.

Sullivan finished with a career-high 19 points, including five three-pointers.

Missouri newcomers Earnest Ross and Keion Bell said hello to Tiger fans with 22 and 20 points, respectively.

"Obviously, they are more athletic than us and have some bigger guys," Sullivan said. "In the first half, we came out a little shaky. But we kind of held our own in the second half. Once we got the nerves out, we played like we usually play. Overall, they let us know what we need to work on."

McCollum said point guard DeShaun Cooper has been slowed in preseason by tendinitis, which has limited his practice time. The Northwest senior finished just 1-of-7 from the floor with one assist in 19 minutes.

"We've got to get DeShaun healthy," McCollum said. "He has only been practicing three or four days. Once the season gets rolling and he gets back in shape, he'll be good to go."

Last year, Northwest played a competitive exhibition game against Iowa and defeated Division I opponent UMKC. That early schedule helped the Bearcats build a foundation for an MIAA run that resulted in a share of the conference title. The Bearcats hope it can work that way again.

"These games are good because they can expose so many things," McCollum said. "We've just got to go back and commit to competing and playing hard and hopefully we'll do better in our opening game against Graceland."

Missouri coach Frank Haith was especially impressed by the manner in which his team took it to Northwest in the early going.

"The first 12 minutes of the ballgame, we played about as well as we could play," Haith said. "We were getting out in transition and limiting them to one shot. That's how this team has to play to be very good."