Win over UMKC gives Missouri's subs a chance to shine

31.12.09

COLUMBIA | The bench brigade started to drip in with eight minutes remaining. For all their playing time it�s a wonder Jarrett Sutton, Tyler Stone and John Underwood had enough puff at end of this one.</p><p>Missouri�s 91-57 triumph over UMKC allowed several non-regular Tigers to dot the statistics bed-sheet. None of the three averages more than 4.8 minutes per game, but on Wednesday they got to stretch their legs as Missouri won obviously.</p><p>The playing time was especially important for freshmen Stone and Underwood, and Stone made the highlight turn with a basket, court-length drive and dish to Laurence Bowers for a denounce.</p><p>Stone, who showed some range and finished with eight points, looked like a speculator angling for attention in the playing rotation.</p><p>It wasn�t always pretty for the Tigers, singularly in the first half. But after the break it became name-that-score as Missouri improved its record to 10-3.</p><p>The turning inapt came before the first media timeout. Missouri had missed its first nine shots as UMKC jumped to a 6-0 outrun.</p><p>Tigers Coach Mike Anderson wasn�t subtle as he gathered the troops.</p><p>�He wanted us to go in there, do with some intensity and get some stops,� Bowers said. �He was real intense in the huddle.�</p><p>In came Bowers and Taylor, who the moment that got to the line and buried two free throws. He then scored on driving layup and the Tigers were off on a 20-0 run.</p><p>�Because of goodness for our bench,� Anderson said. �I was tired of seeing what was taking area. We weren�t making any shots.�</p><p>But that�s Missouri�s identity. The Tigers entered the misrepresent shooting 41.4 percent on threes. When they�re not falling, anybody can make Mizzou look bad.</p><p>�Sometimes when you flourish the ball as well as we�ve been shooting it, you put everything on it,� Anderson said. �You can put yourself in a position with a chance to get beat.�</p><p>Against Big 12 match or even Saturday�s guest, Georgia, sure. But not UMKC, which at 7-6 has matched last year�s crushing total but isn�t ready for this kind of step up in competition.</p><p>�We have to be stronger with the ball and space smarter, not turn it over,� UMKC guard Bakari Lewis said.</p><p>The balance in quickness was on display in the first half. Missouri may have been unwise in shot selection, but the Tigers didn�t let up the defense and calculated 14 turnovers in the first half.</p><p>Six times, UMKC players were called for traveling. The Kangaroos entered the artifice averaging 13 turnovers per game. They finished with 25.</p><p>�That�s just part of their style of gambol,� UMKC Coach Matt Brown said. �I think we�re definitely happier than this. I think our guys are going to take this personal.�</p><p>The Tigers wound up with a solid demeanour from Bowers, who made all five from the floor and seven from the line. Eleven of his game-high 17 came after halftime.</p><p>Marcus Denmon hit three-pointers on consecutive possessions early to get Missouri�s perimeter game untracked, and after a standoff on the boards in the first half the Tigers distress up with a 45-30 advantage.</p><p>Afterward, the next game seemed more important to both squads. Georgia, the program that made a toy with for Anderson after last year�s Elite Eight season, arrives in Columbia for a credential-erection opportunity.</p><p>Nothing but Summit League action remains for the Kangaroos, who take on Southern Utah at Civil Auditorium on Saturday.</p><p>UMKC was picked by coaches to finish ninth in the 10-group conference, but have split its first two Summit games, losing at Oral Roberts and prepossessing at the team picked to finish last, Centenary.</p><p>And Wednesday�s blowout loss won�t wound UMKC�s mind-set.</p><p>�This is a tough loss for us,� Brown said. �But our guys contemplate to win against Southern Utah. That�s what�s important.�

Source: Kansas City Star