Michael Dixon came off the bench for 12 points in the first half as the Missouri Tigers head into halftime with a 40-24 lead over the Mercer Bears. Missouri's pressure defense has been on full display forcing the Bears into 14 first half turnovers.
The Tigers hit six three point baskets in the first half while shooting 43 percent from the field. In addition to Dixon's 12 points, Phil Pressey and Kim English tossed in eight points each. Pressey has a team high four assists and four steals for the Tigers who ended the half with 10.
Mercer was led by Justin Cecil's nine points. Jibri Bryan came off the bench to connect on two three point baskets and has six points in the game. The Bears were held to just 9 of 24 shooting or 38 percent. They do hold a slight rebounding edge over the Tigers at 18-17 but simply haven't been able to protect the basketball enough for it to make a difference.
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