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No. 2 Missouri tops Texas Tech

Jan 29, 2012 - 1:18 AM Columbia, MO (Sports Network) - Kim English led all scorers with 22 points as No. 2 Missouri remained undefeated at home with a 63-50 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday.

Marcus Denmon added 19 points and six boards and Michael Dixon chipped in nine points as the Tigers (19-2, 6-2 Big 12) improved to 12-0 at home this year.

Missouri has now won five of its last six after dropping its last contest at Oklahoma State.

"First of all, we didn't have a good defensive performance in Stillwater the other night. I thought we were really lax and didn't go after loose balls," admitted Missouri head coach Frank Haith about his team's loss to Oklahoma State.

Haith continued, "Tonight we turned them over 21 times, and even though they shot 41 percent, we still turned them over a lot. I thought our defense was way more active in terms of what we needed to do tonight."

Ty Nurse set the pace for Texas Tech (7-11, 0-8 Big 12) scoring 13 points and Jaye Crockett added a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards. The Red Raiders are winless in Big 12 play and have now lost eight straight games.

"Coach told us to keep our heads up and keep working hard in practice. Tomorrow's another day to get better, and we're just trying to stay positive," said Nurse when asked about the team's recent losing streak.

Missouri opened up the game on a 10-0 run and would never look back.

Texas Tech battled back and got within three, 20-17, on Crockett's three- pointer with 6:19 to go. But back-to-back buckets by English gave Missouri a 25-17 lead.

English finished his hot first half with 19 points as the Tigers entered the intermission with a 31-24 lead over the Red Raiders.

Denmon got it going in the second half, scoring the first nine points for Missouri as it took a 40-28 lead with 16:34 to play in the second.

A three-pointer by Nurse cut the lead to 53-45 with 5:19 still to go in the contest. The Red Raiders, though, failed to put a late run together.

Ricardo Ratliffe's breakaway dunk with 59 seconds left in regulation closed the door on the Red Raiders and Missouri held on for the victory.

Game Notes

Missouri will travel to Texas on Monday while Texas Tech will play host to Oklahoma State on Tuesday...Missouri's Phil Pressey tied a career high with 12 assists...Texas Tech's bench outscored Missouri's by a 36-9 margin...Texas Tech attempted just six free throws, while Missouri went to the line 23 times.