Box Score
COLUMBIA, Mo., November 10, 2006 – Jason Wills recorded the fourth double-double of his career, but it was not enough as Missouri shot 57.7 percent from the floor to defeat the North Carolina A&T men’s basketball team 101-80 Friday night in the John Thompson Foundation Classic in Columbia, Mo.

The Aggies had four other players reach double figures, including 14 apiece from Walter Booth and Derek Crumpton.

"[Missouri] was not much more talented than we were,’’ said head men’s basketball coach Jerry Eaves. “But we gave them too many open looks and layups in transition. [Matt] Lawrence hit open looks tonight from the outside. We have to get there and contest those shots, but he hit them tonight."

Lawrence led Missouri with 27 points on 7-for-11 shooting from 3-point range. Leo Lyons was 8-for-9 from the floor and finished with 16.  

The Tigers took an early 15-point lead 5 ½ minutes into the game. But Crumpton started an Aggies rally with a 3-pointer. When Crumpton rolled in for a layup with 11:12 remaining in the first half, he capped off a 13-4 run that moved the Aggies to within six at 26-20.

Missouri kept the lead between 6 and 10 points over the next five minutes before Lawrence kicked off a personal 8-0 run with two 3-pointers and a layup that gave the Tigers a 48-32 lead with 4:20 to play in the first half.

The Tigers closed the first half by scoring the last nine points, with Lawrence scoring five of them to take a 59-37 halftime lead. The Aggies never got the lead under 15 points again as they start the season 0-1. The Aggies will play their second game of the Classic against Stetson at 2:30 p.m.  

"We pushed the ball tonight and attacked the glass, and out-rebounded a bigger team, so there were some positives,’’ said Eaves. “We just have to get back out there and keep working and do what we do to be successful."