Columbia, Mo. The shots finally fell for Missouri's big scorers.
Kareem Rush and Clarence Gilbert combined for 40 points as the 17th-ranked Tigers ended a three-game losing streak with a 74-47 victory over Coppin State on Wednesday.
"You're going to go through ups and downs," Rush said. "The losing streak is behind us and hopefully we can get on a long winning streak."
Rush shot 29 percent and Gilbert shot 23 percent during the slump that followed nine straight victories to open the season for Missouri (10-3). Against Coppin State, Rush had 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting and Gilbert had 17 points on 6-for-14 shooting despite feeling ill the entire game.
Rush and Gilbert averaged a combined 39.9 points over the first nine games and 24 over the last three.
"I found myself seeing Rush shooting wide open shots all night long and Gilbert made a lot of penetration moves," Coppin State coach Fang Mitchell said. "Both of them hurt us."
Baylor 68, Colorado State 53
Waco, Texas John Lucas scored 19 points and Wendell Greenleaf added 15 to lead Baylor.
Lucas connected on 7-of-9 field goal attempts for Baylor (10-3), including 4-of-5 from beyond the 3-point line.
Colorado State's Brian Greene led all scorers with 22 points. Baylor's Greg Davis and Lawrence Roberts scored 10 points apiece.
After missing their only free-throw opportunity in the first half, the Bears made 14-of-16 in the second half, while Colorado State (7-6) managed only a 15-for-24 effort for the game.
Texas 81, Texas-Pan American 69
Austin, Texas James Thomas scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Texas.
Thomas' point total was a career high. His inside presence was needed as Texas (8-4) was playing its first game without leading scorer and rebounder Chris Owens, who is out for the season.
Nebraska 66, Savannah St. 47
Lincoln, Neb. John Robinson came off the bench to hit six first- half 3-pointers, to lead a long-distance assault as Nebraska beat Savannah State 66-47 Wednesday.
Ten of Nebraska's first 11 field goals were 3-pointers. The last shot in that flurry came from Robinson and gave Nebraska a 31-10 lead with 7:08 left in the first half.
Nebraska (7-4) took a 9-0 lead as Savannah State (0-12) missed its first 10 shots. The Cornhuskers went up by 11 on Brian Conklin's 3-pointer that made the score 16-5 with 11:44 remaining in the half.
Colorado 68, St. Mary's, Cal. 51
Boulder, Colo. David Harrison scored a career-high 22 points as Colorado defeated St. Mary's 68-51 Wednesday night.
Harrison scored 20 points in the second half and had eight rebounds. Stephane Pelle scored 10 and James Wright added 11 as Colorado (8-2) won its fifth straight.



No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.