LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) - Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Brandon Ashley each scored 15 points, helping No. 2 Arizona wear down Missouri for a 72-53 victory in the opening round the Maui Invitational on Monday.
Arizona (4-0) has struggled shooting from the perimeter this season and had another rough day from behind the arc, hitting a couple shots late to finish 5 of 16 from 3-point range.
The Wildcats made up for it on defense, holding Missouri (2-2) to 36 percent shooting while scoring 24 points off the Tigers' 17 turnovers.
Freshman Stanley Johnson had 14 points for Arizona and T.J. McConnell nine assists to offset a 2-for-11 game from the floor.
Montaque Gill-Caesar led Missouri with 13 points.
Arizona got off to slow starts in two of its three games, pulling away in the second half to beat Mount St. Mary's and UC Irvine.
The young Tigers opened the season with a frustrating 69-61 loss to Missouri-Kansas City, but bounced back with victories over Valparaiso and Oral Roberts. Missouri showed off its shooting prowess against Oral Roberts, hitting 8 of 9 3-pointers in second half to pull away from Oral Roberts for a 78-64 win.
Neither team could hit much of anything early in Maui.
Arizona has struggled from the perimeter this season and it continued against the active Tigers. The Wildcats missed their first eight 3-pointers before getting a couple to drop late in the first half to take a 32-25 lead.
The Tigers had trouble with Arizona's length and athleticism, struggling to get good looks inside and clanking a couple of long 3-pointers high off the glass. Missouri shot 8 of 24 in the first half.
Arizona started to find the range a bit by getting the ball inside, hitting five of its first 10 shots to build the lead to 11 early in the second half.
The Wildcats kept dropping shots - 11 of 23 in the half - but kept stretching the lead for a spot in the Maui semifinals.
TIP-INS
Missouri: Wes Clark, who averaged 14 points through the first three games, had three points on 1-of-6 shooting.
Arizona: Gabe York started at shooting guard, but was replaced in the starting lineup in the second half by Hollis-Jefferson, who hit his first 3-pointer of the season in the opening 90 seconds.
UP NEXT:
Missouri: will face Purdue in the Maui Invitational loser's bracket on Tuesday.
Arizona: plays Kansas State in the tournament semifinals on Tuesday.