Dec. 31, 2010
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Marcus Denmon matched his season best with five 3-pointers and scored 22 points, helping No. 10 Missouri to an 81-58 victory over Old Dominion on Thursday night. The Monarchs were led by Frank Hassell with 12 points and Marquel De Lancey with 10.
Reserve Michael Dixon added 18 points and four assists and Matt Pressey had 15 points, five rebounds and three steals for the Tigers (13-1).
The game was tied four times in the first half, the last at 19-19 with 8:06 left, but a Marcus Denmon three-pointer put the Tigers up for good.
Missouri led 37-29 at the half behind 14 points from Denmon and pulled away with 11-2 and 12-2 runs in the second half, ending Old Dominion's four-game winning streak in front of a crowd of 13,107 at the Mizzou Arena which was 2,000 shy of capacity.
Missouri was 9-for-19 overall from 3-point range, which Denmon going 5-for-8 and Dixon 3-for-3.
Frank Hassel had 12 points and reserve Marquel De Lancey added a career high 10 points for Old Dominion, which committed a season-high 21 turnovers. The Monarchs outrebounded their 13th straight opponent to open the season with a slim 33-32 advantage, but were limited to nine rebounds after entering with an average of 17 per game.
Missouri had five players in double figures with Kim English scoring 11 points and Ricardo Ratliffe 10.
Denmon had 14 points and was 3 for 4 from 3-point range in the first half, leaving Old Dominion with its largest deficit at the break.
Junior Chris Cooper led ODU in rebounding, with nine,and scored a career high tying nine points. follwed by Hassell with seven,but Mizzou led 18-15 on the boards at halftime.
ODU returns to CAA play Monday night at Towson.