After missing the final six games of last season due to a broken wrist, Jefferson City's O.G. Anunoby was chomping at the bit to get this basketball season underway.
Unfortunately for the Sedalia Smith-Cotton Tigers, they were the Jays' opening-night opponent.
Anunoby drilled his first six shots of the season - including a 3-of-3 effort from 3-point range - for 15 points as the Jays took a 22-7 lead after one quarter Thursday night.
Jefferson City didn't look back after that, as Anunoby's 27-point effort led the Jays to a 60-38 victory at Fleming Fieldhouse.
"I wanted to come out and make sure I played hard and didn't take it for granted," said Anunoby, the Indiana University signee.
Just 21 seconds into the game, Anunoby drilled a jumper to get things started. Then :39 later came his first 3, and the show was on.
His next basket was the prettiest of the night, a swooping dunk where he took off on one side of the basket and hammered it home on the other.
Another 2 and a pair of 3s gave the Jays a lead that would never dip below double digits after that.
"That was good to see," Jefferson City coach Blair Thompson said. "Being that he missed the last six games last year, he was dying to get back up here and do this. Hitting those jump shots, I think it got our team energized and got the crowd going."
Things were a bit closer in the second quarter, even though the Jays doubled-up the Tigers again, outscoring them 10-5.
But Anunoby got the crowd roaring once again, this time with his defense, as he came up with a steal at half-court as time was running out in the quarter. He raced upcourt as time wound down and threw down a dunk - one of six in the game for him - as the buzzer sounded.
"I didn't actually know how much time was left," Anunoby said. "I thought we had like 10 seconds left and as soon as I dunked, I looked up and the buzzer went off."
It was one of several steals in the half for the senior, who outscored Smith-Cotton by himself in the first half, 19-12.
"The amount of area he covers defensively is really impressive," Thompson said. "Guys don't see him, and then there he is in the passing lane. It's what makes him a good player - he's got instincts and the tools to go with it."
The Jays kept things rolling in the third quarter, pushing their advantage to 52-27. Jacob Gourley and Eysan Wiley both had six points in the quarter, as Gourley drilled a pair of 3s and Wiley hit three jumpers.
Smith-Cotton outscored Jefferson City 11-8 in a fast-moving final period, as the Jays' lead never dipped below 20 points at any time in the second half.
"I think the guys were ready to play, ready to put the uniforms on and turn the lights on and go," Thompson said. "We practiced for a solid month before we played and that's a long time."
Wiley joined Anunoby in double figures by making 6-of-10 shots for 12 points.
Anunoby led all players with six rebounds and Wiley was close behind with five, and astoundingly, that matched the Tigers' team total. Jefferson City had a 23-11 edge on the boards.
"Eysan is a good addition," Thompson said. "He's an unselfish player and he's got a good body on him, made for that abuse down low. He can dish it out and take it.
"He stepped up and hit some nice mid-range jumpers for us and finished at the rim a few times. I was glad for him as a new guy to the program to come in and have some success. I know he'll have more of it."
The Jays hit an impressive 59 percent from the field, making 26-of-44 shots. The Tigers were fairly hot as well, connecting on 16-of-33 shots (48 percent).
"(Smith-Cotton coach) Brennan (Scanlon) will do a good job with them, and they will get better and beat a lot of teams," Thompson said. "I thought they came in and did some things well that slowed us down. We tried to get a little pressure on them to speed them up. It was kind of a tug-of-war."
Jefferson City will have a quick turnaround, as the Jays play Lee's Summit North at 7:30 p.m. today in the Norm Stewart Challenge at Columbia College.
In Thursday's JV game, Jefferson City captured a 43-28 victory.
Joel Breedlove had seven points to pace Jefferson City, while four other Jays had six points apiece.