COLUMBIA, Mo. — Tamar Bates scored 17 points, Mark Mitchell added 16 and Missouri defeated Howard 77-62 on Friday night.
Missouri (1-1) led by 12 at halftime but it took a late second-half run to put the game away. The Tigers' lead was only 61-57 after Howard's Marcus Dockery drilled a 3-pointer with 4 1/2 minutes to go in the second half. After the teams traded baskets, Missouri went on an 11-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Bates.
The Tigers led 74-59 heading to the final minute and Anthony Robinson II, who finished with 13 points, made 3 of 4 free throws to wrap up the win.
Dockery led Howard (0-2) with 14 points and Bryce Harris added 11.
Led by Mitchell who made 8 of 8 free throws, the Tigers went 26 for 31 from the line. They also had a 20-5 advantage in points after turnovers.
Howard made 10 of 19 3-pointers compared to 3 of 22 for Missouri.
