Mizzou caps 3-0 tourney with win over Stetson

The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Kalen Grimes posted his second-straight double-double off a strong first half and Matt Lawrence scored all but two of his 13 points in the second half, helping Missouri rally for a 66-45 victory over Stetson in the John Thompson Foundation Classic on Sunday.

Grimes had 14 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots for Missouri (3-0), which also beat North Carolina A&T and Army in the three-day, round-robin event. The school is 3-0 for the first time since 2003-04, although there were struggles in each of the last two games.

The Tigers trailed for the first time this season, surrendering the first four points of the game, falling behind by four later in the first half and trailing 27-25 at the break. Stetson took advantage of Missouri's 1-for-9 shooting from 3-point range, a strength in the school's first two games.

Missouri outscored Stetson (1-2) 41-18 in the second half, finishing 6-for-19 on 3-pointers and getting eight assists from Jason Horton. The Hatters were held to 30 percent shooting.

Stetson, which was 12-for-24 from 3-point range on Saturday in a victory over North Carolina A&T, was 2-for-16 against Missouri.

The finale drew a crowd of 4,634, about one-third of capacity at the Mizzou Arena. Missouri is rebuilding under new coach Mike Anderson after Quin Snyder resigned last February.

The last Missouri coach to win his first three games was Wilber Stalcup in 1946-47.