Columbia, Mo. — Thomas Gardner perhaps is Missouri's best three-point threat, so he shrugged off some early misfires. He also retrieved some of his teammates' misses.
Gardner had 19 points and 12 rebounds for his first career double-double, helping the Tigers pull away in the second half for a 68-60 victory over pesky Brown in the opening round of the Guardians Classic on Monday night.
"My teammates have confidence in me and I have confidence in myself," Gardner said. "If I'm open, I'm going to take the shot, regardless."
The Tigers, who shot 35 percent in their first regular-season game in the new Paige Sports Arena, will play Houston in the second round tonight. Houston rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to beat Sam Houston State, 72-69, earlier Monday.
Linas Kleiza added 17 points and nine rebounds for Missouri, which trailed by five in the first half and struggled to adjust to Brown's 2-3 defense. The Tigers were 3-for-18 from three-point range midway through the second half before finally starting to connect, finishing 7-for-26.
The international three-point distance of 20 feet, 6 inches -- nine inches longer than in the NCAA -- is being used in the tournament.
"I don't know that we took a lot of bad shots," coach Quin Snyder said. "We only shot five more than them, so I don't think we were just jacking it. But obviously, we've got to mix some stuff in."
Missouri, 16-14 last season, is rebuilding without Arthur Johnson and Rickey Paulding. The Tigers also are unaccustomed to playing against a zone.
Missouri's Jimmy McKinney, left, battles Brown's Luke Ruscoe for a loose ball. The Tigers won, 68-60, in the Guardians Classic game on Monday in Columbia, Mo.
"They really pushed us on the wings, they really pushed out on the baseline," Gardner said. "It was real tough trying to get our offense going."
Damon Huffman had 16 points for Brown, shorthanded without Ivy League player of the year Jason Forte, a point guard, who is suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team.
Colorado 72, Charleston 57
Boulder, Colo. -- Freshman Richard Roby led Colorado's balanced scoring with 19 points, helping the Buffaloes beat the College of Charleston in the first round of the preseason NIT. Josh Jackson had 12 points to lead Charleston, which shot 26 percent.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.