Tamar Bates scored a career-high 25 points as Missouri routed Central Arkansas 92-59 Saturday in Columbia, Mo.
Bates made 9 of 10 shots from the floor, including all three from 3-point range, as Missouri (8-5) snapped a three-game losing streak.
Sean East II scored 16 points and Noah Carter had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Tigers. Connor Vanover scored 11 points and Aidan Shaw added 10.
Carl Daughtery Jr. led Central Arkansas (3-12) with 23 points and Tucker Anderson added 11.
Missouri forced 20 turnovers and built a 47-22 rebounding edge against the overmatched Bears.
The Tigers broke out to an 11-3 lead, with East and Bates combining to score nine of those points. The Bears responded with a 7-0 run to cut their deficit to one, with Masai Olowokere scoring five points.
Missouri pushed its lead to 26-17 with Vanover and Carter scoring consecutive baskets inside, but Anderson triggered an 8-0 Bears surge with a 3-point jumper and two free throws.
That cut the Central Arkansas deficit to 26-25. From there, Missouri closed out the first half with a 20-5 surge.
Shaw started that run with a post-up dunk shot, then a pair of East mid-range jumpers kept the Tigers rolling toward their 46-31 halftime lead.
Missouri turned the ball over 10 times during the first half, but the Tigers overcame that sloppiness by shooting 53.1 percent from the floor, getting 10 offensive rebounds and scoring 18 points in the paint to seize control.
The Tigers scored the first seven points in the second half to expand their lead to 53-31. Bates hit a turnaround jumper in the lane and a 3-point jumper to cement Missouri’s control of the game.
The Bears got no closer than 16 points for the rest of the game.
–Field Level Media