MU routs Western Illinois

The Tigers shot for 53 percent.

By Sam Wilson

Published Nov. 27, 2007

Junior forward DeMarre Carroll had a double-double on Sunday in the first half of the Tigers' 91-52 win against Western Illinois. Carroll had 11 points and 11 rebounds in the half. But even though Carroll did not commit any first half fouls, coach Mike Anderson only played him for 13 minutes.

"We're looking for some other guys to step up," Anderson said. "We're looking to see what (senior forward) Vaidotas Volkus can bring to our basketball team, to see what (senior forward) Marshall Brown can bring and what (freshman forward) Justin Safford can bring."

Of the three players, Anderson got the most statistical production from Volkus in the first half, who had four points and four rebounds in nine first-half minutes.

Even with Carroll off the floor for seven minutes, the Tigers dominated the first half on their way to a 50-17 halftime lead.

Senior guard Stefhon Hannah led the team in the first half, scoring with 12 points on 4-5 shooting from the field, despite being sick earlier in the week.

"I was pretty bad," Hannah said. "It didn't end until like Friday."

Hannah seemed fully recovered by Sunday. He had 21 points, three rebounds and three assists in the game.

"I thought Stefhon kind of commanded the team," Anderson said. "He got the ball to the right people, so you see a team that had 21 assists. We had 11 turnovers, and at that pace, that's remarkable."

Anderson also commended his team's shot selection, as it shot 53 percent for the game compared to 36.8 percent for Western Illinois. One player who found his shot was junior guard Matt Lawrence. Lawrence shot 3-6 from behind the arc to score 9 points. He made his first 3-pointers, all in the first half.

"It felt good," Lawrence said. "I was just happy to get back home and take a couple days after the CBE Classic and just work on my shot and get it back to where it needs to be."

Lawrence said he looked at film to see the way he shot earlier in the week so was able to isolate a problem and adjust.

"I think I got a little more arc on my shot," Lawrence said. "Coach and I looked over my film and everything. First we looked at my defense and how I let some guys get by me. And then I looked at my shot, and I noticed it was a little flat."

Carroll finished the game with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and he said he is getting more comfortable playing with the team as the season continues.

"We're kind of finding ourselves right now," Carroll said. "We're meshing together as a unit. The first five are really starting to mesh together, and the second five are coming in and giving us help off the bench."

The Western Illinois game served as somewhat of a reprieve for Missouri. The team was coming off of games against Michigan State and Maryland. Next up is a trip to Arkansas on Wednesday night, followed by a game at California and a home game with Purdue.

"I think we're ready," sophomore guard Keon Lawrence said. "We learned a lot. We watched a lot of film on Michigan State, and we learned a lot from that."