Nov. 2, 2011

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Missouri Basketball continued preseason play against the Truman State Bulldogs in head coach Frank Haith's inaugural home game in Mizzou Arena. Haith owns a 129-101 overall record from his seven seasons at Miami, where he took the Hurricanes to five postseason appearances and stands as the winningest postseason coach in Miami Basketball program history.

The No. 25 ranked Tigers are coming off a 116-68 win over host Missouri Southern in the One State, One Spirit Classic, an exhibition game that raised over $100,000 for Joplin tornado relief and brought national attention back to a town still deep in recovery.

Redshirt freshman Kadeem Green slammed two dunks and grabbed four rebounds in the first half. The 6-8 forward sat out last year with a torn Achilles tendon and looks to be a force in the paint this season.

Missouri went into the tunnel at halftime sitting at a 45-16 lead and holding the Bulldogs to 20 percent shooting. Senior guard Marcus Denmon played strong on the three-point line, shooting 5-for-8 to tally 15 points in the first half.

Denmon continued his high level of play in the second half, ending the game with an impressive 23 points from seven three-pointers and a dunk.

Three other Tigers joined Denmon in the double digits: Michael Dixon with 15, Matt Pressey with 12 and Ricardo Ratliffe with 10.

Dixon led the team in assists with eight dimes. The junior point guard also recorded three rebounds and a steal. Sophomore Phil Pressey also chipped in from the point with another four dimes, three rebounds and three steals.

Only nine players dressed out for Missouri but they weren't outmanned beneath the basket, grabbing 44 rebounds over Truman's 23 and earning them 17 second chance points. Green led the team in rebounds with 11. Ratliffe was behind him with seven.

42 of Missouri's final 87 points came from the three point line. The Tigers fought hard beneath the basket as well, scoring 34 points in the paint.

Mizzou stayed aggressive, grabbing 10 steals, forcing 17 turnovers from the Bulldogs and making 30 points off those errors.

Steve Moore and Jarrett Sutton scored nine and six points respectively, which would have tied their career highs were it regular season play.