LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Slow starts and strong finishes are nothing new to Arizona. The Wildcats did it in three games on the mainland and started the Maui Invitational the same way.

They better get it fixed fast with the competition ramping up over the next two days.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Brandon Ashley each scored 15 points, helping No. 3 Arizona wear down Missouri for a 72-53 victory in the opening round of the Maui Invitational on Monday.

“That initial surge out of the gates of playing well at both ends, I don’t know if we’ve really done that,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “I can also flip it and make it a positive, because like every team at this time of the year, you’re in search of getting better and improving. Today is another step for our team.”

Arizona (4-0) got off to slow starts in two of its first three games and wasn’t exactly sharp early against the Tigers.

The Wildcats struggled to hit shots from the perimeter and were at times disjointed offensively before a short spurt put them up five a halftime.

They made up for it on defense, holding Missouri (2-2) to 36 percent shooting, including 2 of 13 from 3-point range.

Freshman Stanley Johnson had 14 points for Arizona and T.J. McConnell nine assists to offset a 2-for-11 game from the floor.

“I’m going to take something that coach has said in the past: A great defensive team is never selfish,” Ashley said. “What that means basically is that if somebody gets beat, you’re going to be there to help them out.”

Missouri kept it close in the first half in the first half behind its defense.

The Tigers let the game get away from them because they couldn’t hold onto the ball on offense.

Missouri had 17 turnovers that led to 24 points for Arizona, dooming any hope of keeping up with the Wildcats.

Montaque Gill-Caesar led the Tigers with 13 points.

“We didn’t make the correct passes and (it was) the pressure, so we can’t really blame one thing — it was both,” said Missouri’s Keith Shamburger, who had 11 points.

Arizona pulled away in the second half to beat Mount St. Mary’s and UC Irvine before heading to Maui.

The young Tigers opened the season with a frustrating 69-61 loss to Missouri-Kansas City, but bounced back with victories over Valparaiso and Oral Roberts. Missouri showed off its shooting prowess against Oral Roberts, hitting 8 of 9 3-pointers in second half to pull away from Oral Roberts for a 78-64 win.

Neither team could hit much of anything early in Maui.

Arizona has struggled from the perimeter this season and it continued against the active Tigers. The Wildcats missed their first eight 3-pointers before getting a couple to drop late in the first half to take a 32-25 lead.

The Tigers had trouble with Arizona’s length and athleticism, struggling to get good looks inside and clanking a couple of long 3-pointers high off the glass. Missouri shot 8 of 24 in the first half.

Arizona started to find the range a bit by getting the ball inside, hitting five of its first 10 shots to build the lead to 11 early in the second half.

The Wildcats kept dropping shots — 11 of 23 in the half — but kept stretching the lead for a spot in the Maui semifinals.

“We played some different defenses to see if we could slow them down a little bit, but they’re a great team and it won’t work forever,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “But it worked for a while.”

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TIP-INS

Missouri: Wes Clark, who averaged 14 points through the first three games, had three points on 1-of-6 shooting.

Arizona: Arizona hit 19 of 25 free throws for its best performance from the line this season. … The Wildcats hit a couple of shots late to finish 5 for 16 from 3-point range.

UP NEXT

Missouri: will face Purdue in the Maui Invitational loser’s bracket on Tuesday.

Arizona: plays Kansas State in the tournament semifinals on Tuesday.

RONDAE’S ROLE

Miller has used Hollis-Jefferson in the sixth man role this season because he likes the spark the high-energy sophomore provides off the bench. With Arizona in a bit of a lull most of the first half, Miller swapped out Gabe York for Hollis-Jefferson to start the second. RHJ, as he’s known, scored five quick points, including his first 3-pointer of the season, to help spark Arizona’s run in the second half.

MISSOURI REBOUNDING

Arizona has been one of the nation’s best rebounding teams over the past few seasons and have a long, athletic team that’s difficult to grab boards against. Though a bit smaller than the Wildcats, Missouri was able to out-rebound Arizona 34-32, including eight offensive rebounds.

— Associated Press —

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Missouri found a way to win on the road once again.

Now, the Tigers return home with a chance to earn their second straight trip to the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Maty Mauk threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes and Marcus Murphy ran for two scores Saturday night as Missouri defeated Tennessee 29-21 for its 10th straight road win, setting a school record.

“Everybody said we were going to lose this game, too,” Missouri defensive end Shane Ray said. “It doesn’t look like it.”

Missouri can clinch the East Division and earn a spot in the SEC title game by winning at home Friday over Arkansas. A loss would send Georgia (9-2, 6-2, No. 10 CFP, No. 9 AP) to Atlanta instead. Georgia is 10th and Missouri 20th in the College Football Playoff standings (No. 19 AP).

Andrew Baggett’s 43-yard field goal broke a 13-all tie midway through the third quarter. Mauk threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to Jimmie Hunt and a 13-yard scoring strike to Bud Sasser in the fourth quarter.

Tennessee (5-6, 2-5) must win next week at Vanderbilt to become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2010.

“We’ve got a lot to accomplish with this football team,” Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. “We’re not going anywhere. Some people never even thought we’d be playing for a bowl game.”

The Volunteers cut the lead to 29-21 when Joshua Dobbs threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jason Croom with 1:52 remaining and delivered a two-point conversion on a quarterback keeper. Tennessee then rested its hopes on an onside kick.

Tennessee recovered its first attempt, but an offside penalty forced the Vols to kick again. Although Tennessee’s Justin Coleman recovered the next kick, officials ruled the Vols had touched the ball before it went the required 10 yards.

Missouri won by containing a Tennessee offense that had averaged 47.5 points per game in Dobbs’ two previous starts. Missouri had six sacks and kept Tennessee’s offense out of the end zone until the final 2 minutes. The Volunteers’ only touchdown before that came when holder Patrick Ashford threw a 31-yard pass to Alex Ellis on a fake field goal.

“We felt going in we had to get after Josh Dobbs to win this game,” said Missouri defensive end Markus Golden, who had two sacks. “That’s exactly what was on our mind.”

Dobbs was 24 of 37 for 195 yards with a touchdown and interception, while Mauk went 12 of 25 for 230 yards. Murphy ran for 82 yards on 19 carries to help Missouri outrush Tennessee 180-53.

“I’d definitely say that’s the best defense we’ve played (against),” Tennessee running back Jalen Hurd said.

Tennessee was missing leading tackler A.J. Johnson and cornerback Michael Williams, who were suspended from all team-related activities Monday, one day before both were named as subjects of an ongoing rape investigation in which no charges have been filed.

The Vols also didn’t have injured center Mack Crowder and receiver Marquez North. They played the first half without safety Brian Randolph, who had committed a targeting penalty in a 50-16 victory over Kentucky last week.

All those absences tested Tennessee’s depth to the point that the Vols started seven true freshmen. Never before had Tennessee started that many true freshmen in one game.

Tennessee still seemed on the verge of tying the game or taking the lead early in the fourth quarter.

“This is a resilient group of kids,” Jones said.

The Tigers were clinging to a 16-13 advantage when a pass-interference penalty gave Tennessee a first down at the Missouri 29. But on the next play, Dobbs threw a pass that bounced off the hands of wide receiver Josh Malone and was picked off by Kenya Dennis at the Missouri 20.

Three plays later, Mauk threw a deep pass to Hunt, who beat Coleman to catch the ball inside the Tennessee 40, then stiff-armed cornerback Cam Sutton inside the 25 before heading into the end zone. The touchdown extended Missouri’s lead to 23-13 with 10:42 remaining.

Mauk capped Missouri’s next drive by finding Sasser in the left corner of the end zone with 6:22 left.

“I’m very, very proud of our football team,” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. “We’ve got a quick week, short week. We’ve got a big game on Friday.”

— Associated Press —