Box Score
COLUMBIA, Mo., December 17, 2007 – If the North Carolina A&T’s perimeter shots stopped falling, men’s head coach Jerry Eaves knew where Missouri had its advantage.

The Aggies perimeter shots did stop falling and Missouri took the ball into the paint to earn a 94-66 win Monday night at Mizzou Arena.

Steven Rush led the Aggies with 14 points, while Thomas Coleman came off the bench to score 10 points, grab five rebounds and swat two shots. Jason Wills added eight points and nine rebounds.

“The difference between the two teams is that they can go inside and generate offense,’’ said Eaves. “We’re not there yet. We stop hitting shots and we got in trouble.”

Missouri scored 42 points in the paint and went to the line 28 times, hitting 23 free throws. Forward DeMarre Carroll led the Tigers with 22 points and 12 rebounds on 7-for-12 shooting. Fellow frontcourt mate Leo Lyons added 15 points, five rebounds on 6-for-9 shooting.

The game was hectic in the first half with both teams using their full court pressure to force the other into numerous turnovers. Rush put the Aggies ahead with a 3-pointer he banked in to give the Aggies a 31-29 lead.

The Tigers then took over in the paint by going on a 9-0 run. Six of those points came on layups. Missouri went into the locker room leading 41-35 and went on a 36-15 run to open the second half to put the Aggies away.

“This was a good learning experience for my team,’’ said Eaves. “We have to learn how to play against pressure. We have to learn how to beat teams who have low-post scoring.”

The Aggies head to Akron, Ohio to face the Akron Zips on Wednesday at 7 p.m.