Butterfield returns as MU wins

The team will begin its regular season next week.

By Sam Wilson

Published Nov. 9, 2007

Coach Mike Anderson wants his team to make the game "40 minutes of hell" for the opponent.

But on Thursday, that was unnecessary.

The Tigers put the Missouri Western State Griffons through a brutal 20 minutes in the first half.

The reward was a 45-point Tiger halftime lead at 64-19.

The Tigers had no trouble finishing the job and won 113-55.

"We started off good," junior forward Leo Lyons said. "We could always do better."

The MU pressure defense forced the Griffons into 21 first-half turnovers, compared to just six Tiger first-half turnovers.

The Griffons committed 19 first-half fouls. Missouri was 18-27 at the free-throw line in the opening half.

With just fewer than 18 minutes to go in the game, the MU student section began chanting for junior Nick Berardini to enter the game.

The Tigers struggled to rebound in Saturday's exhibition opener against UM-St. Louis, but that was not the case in the first half against Missouri Western. In the first half, the Tigers out-rebounded the Griffons 23-13.

Sophomore guard Keon Lawrence led the Tigers in the first half with six rebounds.

Freshman forward Justin Safford said Anderson used Lawrence's first-half performance as motivation for the big men.

"That was the topic at halftime," he said. "Us big guys, we've got to be a little bit more aggressive."

Lawrence finished the game with a team-leading nine rebounds, but he said he thinks he could have reached double figures.

"I could have had more rebounds," he said. "For a minute, I stopped going to the boards a little bit."

Junior forward DeMarre Carroll said it was positive that a guard could lead the team in rebounding.

"Coach was saying when the guards get the rebounds, it's easier for us in transition," Carroll said. "The guards' rebounding, that was a big key for us tonight."

The Tigers only out-rebounded the Griffons throughout the game, finishing 41-38.

"We could do better," Anderson said. "I think what you saw is that when our guards rebounded, it was really effective."

Lawrence also finished the game with 15 points and nine assists, missing a triple-double by one assist and one rebound.

He said he didn't think about the statistics, but his teammates kept track.

"I was just trying to go get more rebounds," he said. "They were telling me, and I was trying to get it, but I couldn't."

The game also saw the return of previously suspended senior forward Darryl Butterfield, who pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace.

Anderson said he wanted to keep the specifics of his discipline with Butterfield internal, but he said he set out a list of requirements for Butterfield's return to game action and that Butterfield fulfilled those requirements.

Butterfield's teammates said they enjoyed having him back on the court.

"It means a lot," Lawrence said. "He gives you everything he's got when he's out there."

Butterfield and the rest of the team open up the regular season at 7 p.m. on Monday night against Central Michigan.