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No. 10 Missouri cruises past Navy

Dec 11, 2011 - 4:01 AM Columbia, MO (Sports Network) - Marcus Denmon scored 22 points as No. 10 Missouri rolled to an 84-59 win over Navy.

Ricardo Ratliffe had 14 points and eight rebounds while Kim English added 13 points for the Tigers (9-0), who have won every game this season by double- digits.

"We knew coming into this game that Navy may try to counter our quickness with slowing the pace down," said Denmon. "We just have to be patient. They came out to a good start, but then we started getting a couple stops. Us being patient helped us start to take off."

J.J. Avila totaled 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Midshipmen (3-8), who have lost their past four.

Navy scored the first five points of the game, but Denmon's layup four minutes in gave Missouri a lead it never relinquished.

A 9-0 run later in the half gave the Tigers a 27-17 lead with seven minutes to play after Ratliffe put in a layup.

Flip Pressey put in a pair of free throws in the final seconds of the half to give Missouri a 45-26 lead after 20 minutes.

A 14-0 run in the early part of the second half staked Missouri to a 61-32 lead when Steve Moore hit a layup and free throw with 11 1/2 minutes left.

Navy was unable to cut into its deficit to get back into the game.

Game Notes

It wasn't all bad news for Navy on Saturday as the football team beat Army, 27-21, in the annual matchup between the academies...Missouri hosts Kennesaw State on Thursday...Navy has off until December 22 when it will host Presbyterian...Missouri has won all three matchups with Navy.