COLUMBIA, Mo. - A sluggish first half for Missouri turned into a rout by the first media timeout of the second half.
Thanks in large part to forward Laurence Bowers, the 14th-ranked Tigers overcame a listless first 20 minutes of basketball to down Alcorn State 91-54 on Tuesday at Mizzou Arena.
"Obviously we didn't come out with the energy we needed to in the first half," Missouri coach Frank Haith said.
After Missouri (2-0) was seemingly sleepwalking through the first half, shooting 23 percent from the floor, it was Bowers who energized the team.
He scored 14 points in less than seven minutes of play to start the second half. When he went to the bench with 13:15 left, Missouri had turned a seven-point lead into a 58-33 advantage.