Shawn Phillips Jr. totaled 17 points and eight rebounds on Tuesday, guiding Missouri to a 98-66 victory over South Carolina State in Columbia, Mo.
Mark Mitchell contributed 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Tigers (7-0), while Sebastian Mack and Annor Boateng added 12 points apiece. T.O. Barrett chipped in 11 points off the bench for Missouri, which extended its best start to a season since beginning 9-0 in 2022-23.
The Tigers outrebounded South Carolina State 46-29.
South Carolina State (0-7) was led by Owen Bronston Jr.’s 17 points and Florian Tenebay’s 13. Reserve Rayniel Wright put up 10 points for the Bulldogs, who played their first of three Southeastern Conference opponents. South Carolina State will travel to face South Carolina and Tennessee in December.
After Jayden Johnson’s free throw put the Bulldogs on the board early in the game, Barrett and Jevon Porter’s 3-pointers began an 11-0 run that give the Tigers a 19-1 lead.
Cameron Clark’s basket with 13:55 left in the half gave South Carolina State its first field goal.
Mitchell’s three-point play and Phillips’ layup extended the commanding advantage to 25 midway through the first half.
Bronston connected on the Bulldogs’ first 3-pointer at the 7:54 mark, pulling the visitors within 22.
South Carolina State continued to chip away, pulling within 15, before Boateng’s six straight points keyed a 10-0 run that lifted Missouri to a 53-28 lead.
Mitchell led all scorers with 13 first-half points as Missouri took a 55-30 edge into the locker room.
Mack’s layup and Barrett’s dunk gave the Tigers a 70-38 advantage with 12:23 remaining, the biggest margin to that point.
A Porter 3-pointer and a dunk from Boateng extended the gap to 85-49 with 6:01 remaining.
Tigers reserve Nicholas Randall finished the game with a layup, just his second basket of the season, stamping Missouri’s convincing win.
–Field Level Media
