Dec. 30, 2000

Box Score

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Arthur Johnson scored 10 points and had a school-record eight blocks as Missouri beat Stetson 89-64 Saturday.

Johnson shattered the old mark of five blocks in a game, which had been matched 10 times.

Kareem Rush led the Tigers in scoring with 25 points and had 12 rebounds. Missouri (8-3) improved to 5-0 at home this season, and bounced back from an 86-81 overtime loss against No. 5 Illinois.

Rush, the Big 12's leading scorer, shot 10-of-16 from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. The sophomore entered the game having made 26 consecutive free throws, but halted that streak with a miss in the first half.

The Tigers shot 56.5 percent from the field, a significant improvement over their 43.1 percent average. Stetson shot 35.3 percent from the field, far below its 47.5 percent average.

Missouri used a 12-0 run early in the game to open up a 21-9 lead with 12:21 remaining in the first half. Stetson responded with a 16-4 run to tie the game before falling behind at halftime 39-31.

The Tigers' lead gradually grew in the second half, helped by 5-of-6 3-point shooting at the outset. Missouri's largest lead was 79-51, and Stetson didn't get closer than 20 points in the final 10 minutes of the game.

Missouri shot 50 percent from 3-point range, up from its 34 percent season average. Brian Grawer scored all of his 12 points on 4-of-5 3-point shooting.

Sebastian Singletary led the Hatters (5-5) with 16 points. It was Stetson's first loss under interim head coach Derek Waugh, who took over Wednesday and got his first career victory against Southwest Missouri State on Thursday.