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No. 12 Missouri wallops South Carolina State

Dec 18, 2012 - 5:02 AM Columbia, MO (Sports Network) - Earnest Ross scored a game-high 16 points to help 12th-ranked Missouri demolish South Carolina State, 102-51, on Monday.

"Whether I'm starting or I'm the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth man off the bench, I'm just here to do what my team needs. As long as we win, I'm happy," Ross said.

Keion Bell had 12 points while Laurence Bowers and Stefan Jankovic dropped in 11 points each for the Tigers (9-1), who are a perfect 7-0 at home this season.

Alex Oriakhi had nine points and 11 rebounds and Phil Pressey scored six points to go with six assists and two steals in the win. Jabari Brown had 12 points in his debut with Missouri.

Matthew Hezekiah had 14 points and 12 rebounds while Shaquille Mitchell added 10 points for the Bulldogs (4-7), losers in four straight.

"We were supposed to slow the game down," Hezekiah said. "They got us out of that and they kept running and scoring and we couldn't stop them."

South Carolina State stayed within striking distance over the first 10 minutes, trailing 22-11, but Missouri outscored the Bulldogs 27-7 the rest of the half to take a 49-18 lead into the break.

The Tigers opened up the second half with a 10-2 run and led 79-34 by the 10 minute mark. Oriakhi's dunk broke the century mark for Mizzou and Danny Feldman's layup with just over a minute left accounted for the final margin.

Game Notes

The Tigers shot 56.9 percent from the floor and held the Bulldogs to just 29 percent shooting ... Mizzou outscored SCSU 60-18 in points in the paint ... Bowers became the 44th Missouri player to reach the 1,000 point plateau.