Now that all of the drama surrounding Missouri head coach Frank Haith and his time at the University of Miami appears to be dying down, it is time for basketball season in Columbia, MO.
Haith and the 25th-ranked Tigers opened up the regular season against the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks Friday night at the Mizzou Arena.
Missouri recently lost star forward Laurence Bowers to an ACL injury, so Haith had to resort to starting four guards, with forward Ricardo Ratliff in the middle.
The decision posed early problems for Missouri's defense. At halftime, the Tigers barely clung to a 38-36 lead. The Redhawks were out-rebounding the Tigers as well. At halftime, Ratliff only had one board, and reserve forward Steve Moore had to miss time because of foul trouble.
Southeast could not keep up at the end of the game though, and Missouri won with a final score of 83-68.
The Redhawks came out of the gates hot, beginning the game with a 7-0 lead and shot 52 percent during the first half. Southeast forward Tyler Stone, who transferred from Missouri after a disappointing freshman year on the bench, led his team in scoring with 18; guard Marcus Brister was close behind with 15 and six assists.
Thankfully, Haith's offense was running smoothly the entire night. Ricardo Ratliff, alongside senior guards Marcus Denmon and Kim English, had an outstanding night on the scoreboard.
Ratliff landed beautiful over-the-shoulder hook shots consistently, finishing the game with 20 points and eight rebounds.
English had a great night behind the arc, hitting five attempts from three-point distance, finishing with 19 points.
Denmon, who played for for the US in the under-21 World Championships this summer, was able to drive to the basket with ease, also finishing with 20 points. He also brought in eight rebounds on Friday night, putting out an excellent all-around game.
Southeast Missouri played with tremendous effort, but they just could not handle the steady flow of scoring from Missouri's starters. They had also recently lost staring forward Leon Powell to a knee injury, and he was definitely missed down the stretch.
The Redhawks have never defeated Missouri, and they have never beaten a team ranked in the Top 25.
Missouri takes on Mercer University at 8:00 ET at the Mizzou Arena on Monday night.
Martin Erat Marcel Goc Jamie Lundmark Nick Spaling Pikka Rinne Mathieu Carle
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