Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Missouri 81, Oral Roberts 62
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 16, 2010
Where: Mizzou Arena, Columbia, Missouri
Officials: # Rick Hartzell, # Terry Oglesby, # Kelly Self
Attendance: 8130

Laurence Bowers led four players in double figures with 17 points, helping No. 12 Missouri cruise to an 81-62 home win over Oral Roberts on Thursday night.

Down early, Missouri (9-1) pulled ahead for good with 5:54 left in the first half when the first of back-to-back 3-pointers by Kim English made it 23-20. The Tigers outscored the Golden Eagles by a 20-4 margin over the final 7:20 of the opening period to take a 37-24 lead into the break, and Oral Roberts could not get closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Marcus Denmon added 16 points for the Tigers, who held the Golden Eagles to 13-of-49 (26.5 percent) shooting from the field and forced 19 turnovers.

Dominique Morrison and Steven Roundtree paced Oral Roberts (4-6) with 18 and 14 points, respectively, while Damen Bell-Holter added 10 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.

Missouri hosts Central Arkansas Saturday, before an intriguing showdown with No. 14 Illinois on Dec. 22.
Top Game Performances
 
Oral Roberts   Missouri
Dominique Morrison 18 Scoring Laurence Bowers 17
Ken Holdman 2 Assists Phil Pressey 7
Damen Bell-Holter 17 Rebounds Ricardo Ratliffe 7
Steven Roundtree 10 Free Throws Made Laurence Bowers 3
Ken Holdman 2 Steals Marcus Denmon 3
Damen Bell-Holter 2 Blocks Laurence Bowers 5
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Oral Roberts 62 26.5 4-16 32-38 9 37 3 3
Missouri 81 46.9 5-14 16-19 12 29 5 7