Missouri rolls to 72-point victory over Mississippi Valley State

Marques Warrick came off the bench to score a game-high 16 points as Missouri cruised to a 111-39 win over Mississippi Valley State on Thursday night in nonconference play at Columbia, Mo.

The 72-point margin of victory ties for the largest in school history. The Tigers beat Chicago State 117-45 on Dec. 2, 1995.

Tamar Bates scored 15 points and connected on 3-of-4 3- pointers, while Caleb Grill also came off the bench to score 15 points. Mark Mitchell had 13 points and five steals for Missouri (3-1).

Jacob Crews had 11 points and Annor Boateng and Marcus Allen both tallied 10 points for the Tigers.

Arthur Tate led Mississippi Valley State (1-2) with 10 points and Donovan Sanders added eight points for the Delta Devils.

While Missouri jumped out to a 9-2 lead at the first media timeout, the substitutes that entered the game continued the strong play they’ve shown throughout the young season.

Against the Delta Devils, the bench scored 66 points. In the first half, the bench outscored the starters and Mississippi Valley as they racked up 35 points in the Tigers’ 51-19 halftime lead.

When Warrick entered the game at the first media time out, Missouri already had a 9-2 lead. His 3-pointer from just inside the half-court logo extended the Tigers’ lead to 12-2 with 15:36 left in the half.

Another Warrick three gave Missouri a 27-8 lead. His layup with 9:39 left pushed the lead to 21 and gave him 11 points for the game.

Overall, the Delta Devils shot 27.1 percent from the field and 1-for-10 from 3-point land. Missouri forced 23 turnovers and has a 45-2 edge in points off turnovers.

Missouri shot 56.9 from the field and made 15 of 31 from behind the arc. After scoring a career-high 33 points against Eastern Washington on Monday, Grill only scored five points in the first half before getting his offense going after halftime. He drilled a trey for a 71-23 lead, and after a steal, flushed home a double pump, two-hand slam for a 50-point Tigers’ lead with 14:07 left.

The Tigers hit the century mark with a layup by Crews for a 100-35 lead with 4:52 left in the game.