Missouri Basketball used a dominating rebounding advantage (51-31) and 46 points in the paint to dispatch of Rotterdam, 87-64, in the opening game of the club’s 2012 European Tour on Friday.
The Tigers led 53-36 at the half and by as many as 26 in the contest to earn the victory. Newcomers Earnest Ross and Keion Bell led the team with 17 points apiece and five Tigers were in double figures overall, including four newcomers.
“I thought the guys played well considering all but two haven’t been in a college game situation for a year,” Head Coach Frank Haith said. “I thought we were active and kept them from getting into much of a rhythm. We put some guys in new spots, like running Keion Bell at the point and he looked good. This is exhibition for us, so we are going to look at some different combinations and we did that most of the second half. We are a deeper team and having a chance to get these young guys some playing time is a big positive.”
As Haith alluded to, several newcomers got extended playing time, including Tony Criswell. The Oklahoma City native scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds. The 6-foot-9 forward hit 7-of-9 shots overall and was active during his 22 minutes of play, jumping in passing lanes and running out during fast-break opportunities.
“I thought Tony did the things tonight that he has been doing in practice,” Haith said. “He was active, aggressive and shot the ball with confidence. He did the same things we are going to need from him during the regular season.”
Criswell and Ross each finished just two boards shy of a double-double and Michael Dixon nearly added a double-double as well scoring 10 points and dishing nine assists.
Another newcomer, Alex Oriakhi, made an impact in a number of areas including blocked shots. The senior swatted four shots and added six points with seven boards in just 18 minutes. He was one of several MU players hampered by foul trouble, including freshman Stefan Jankovic. Jankovic played just 10 minutes due to fouls, but entered the game and knocked down his first shot, a trey from the top of the key. He also added four boards.
St. Louis-area native Ryan Rosburg was also impressive chipping in five points, five boards and two steals.
“I thought those two young guys did some good things out there,” senior forward Laurence Bowers said. “Stefan is active and can really shoot the ball. Ryan will muscle up and battle in the post. Those guys are going to get better and better with each game over here.”
Mizzou returns to action on Saturday night at 8 p.m. local (1 p.m. CT) against the Netherlands National B Team (U24 National Squad).
— MU Sports Information —