LAS VEGAS (AP) — Missouri may not be playing under the national radar for much longer.

Earnest Ross scored 28 points, Jabari Brown had 24 and the Tigers remained unbeaten with an 83-70 win over Nevada in the final round of the Las Vegas Invitational on Friday night.

Jordan Clarkson added 21 points for the Tigers (7-0), who converted 31 of 33 free throws.

”When you have those three guys playing the way they did tonight, we are going to be hard to beat,” said coach Frank Haith, who returned from a five-game suspension to get wins on consecutive days at the tournament. ”When you have three guys that are going to go and get you 25 points – that’s a luxury.”

Ross made 12 of 13 free throws and grabbed nine rebounds. Brown made four 3-pointers for Missouri, which finished 4-0 in the round-robin tournament and is likely to receive votes in this week’s Associated Press poll.

Missouri will at least be tournament co-champion with No. 19 UCLA, which was 3-0 going into Friday’s last game against Northwestern. The Tigers defeated Northwestern in third round on Thursday.

”We executed so well in the first half, we took good shots,” Haith said. ”We got to the free-throw line and we were moving the ball. In the second half, we took some quick shots. (Nevada) got into transition and they got a little rhythm and that’s just the way college basketball is. Once (Nevada) cut the lead to five, we made big plays.”

Haith’s suspension stemmed from his tenure at Miami, where the NCAA ruled he didn’t monitor assistant coaches’ actions with a booster.

Deonte Burton led Nevada (3-5) with 20 points and three blocks. He was 8 of 10 from the free-throw line. Marqueze Coleman had 15 points for the Wolf Pack, which ended the tourney 1-3.

Nevada cut the Tigers’ 21-point first-half lead to five with six minutes left in the game, but Missouri went on a 16-8 run to pull away.

”We just have to play harder, we just can’t let up in the second half like we did,” Clarkson said. ”(In the second half) they were getting a lot of open shots, and once we started communicating, I felt like we shut them down.”

Missouri finished at 47 percent from the field, while the Wolf Pack was at 35.

”When you miss shots, and get a team like that in transition, I think that’s what built the lead,” Nevada coach David Carter said. ”I thought we were able to make some baskets, and crawl back into it.”

The tournament’s championship format was changed to round-robin this year to accommodate the Tigers and Bruins, who have a game scheduled for Dec. 7 at Missouri and didn’t want to play twice this season.

Missouri came out aggressive early against the Wolf Pack, taking an 11-2 lead and going up by as many as 21 points late in the first half. Brown and Ross each had 16 points in the half. Missouri shot 52 percent from the field and made 13 of 14 free throws to lead 44-26 at the break.

Missouri hosts West Virginia on Thursday before UCLA comes to Columbia.

”I fully expect (Missouri) to be in the NCAA tournament,” Coleman said. ”We knew how fast and how strong they were. Their speed and height was tough. They got to us in the first half. In the second half, we made some adjustments and got the lead down to five, they hit a couple of baskets and took care of us.”

— Associated Press —

Mizzou Football senior offensive lineman Max Copeland (Billings, Mont.) has been named one of three finalists for the Burlsworth Trophy, awarded annually to honor the nation’s top collegiate football player who began his career as a walk-on. Copeland is joined by Wisconsin wide receiver Jared Abbrederis and Tulsa running back Trey Watts as a finalist, chosen from an initial list of 53 nominees, nationally.

Copeland stands as a key piece of Mizzou’s stout offensive line unit, whose performance this season has helped vault the Tigers to No. 5 in the latest BCS standings. Mizzou’s offense ranks 17th in the nation in total offense (491 yards/avg.), 18th in rushing offense (238 yards/avg.) and 13th in offensive scoring (39.7 points/avg.).

A dedicated scout team player for Tigers for his first three seasons in the program, Copeland received his opportunity to play as a junior in 2012, when he started 11 games. Following the season, Copeland was awarded Mizzou’s Unsung Hero Award for his outstanding dedication to the program.

Copeland has thrived in the class room at Missouri, as he pursues a physics major. He chose to walk on with head coach Gary Pinkel’s program despite living in Montana, as his father is a Missouri graduate. Copeland was awarded a scholarship prior to the 2012 season.

A walk-on is defined as a player who began his first season of participation with a Division I (FBS) football program without financial aid of any kind from his university’s athletic department.

Mizzou fans are encouraged to support Copeland by way of a Fan Vote at www.burlsworthtrophy.com. Fans are limited to one vote per day, and the voting will conclude Wednesday, Dec. 4, at midnight CST. The Fan Vote counts as five percent, and it is combined with the results from the Selection Committee.

The Burlsworth Trophy is named in honor of Brandon Burlsworth, who walked on to the Arkansas Razorbacks in 1994, worked his way to being a three-year starter and was eventually named an All-American in 1998. Burlsworth was selected as the 63rd overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1999 NFL Draft, but was killed in a car accident 11 days later. The Burlsworth Foundation was created in his memory and supports the physical and spiritual needs of children, in particular those children that have limited opportunities.

No. 5 Mizzou (10-1, 6-1) heads into an exciting, sold-out game vs. No. 19 Texas A&M at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field to end the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 30. The contest will kick off at 6:45 p.m. on ESPN 1550 AM.

— MU Sports Information —