COLUMBIA — For a while Saturday, Laurence Bowers’ role as Missouri’s do-everything forward was taken to the extreme.

Nobody else was scoring against Tennessee State. Check that, Alex Oriakhi was pitching in.

But in the first half, that was about it, as the duo combined for all but one of Missouri’s total.

The rest of the roster came alive after the break as 12th-ranked Mizzou rolled to a 68-38 triumph.

“We couldn’t get any rhythm going offensively,” Missouri coach Frank Haith said. “We couldn’t make any shots, and they made us look kind of sluggish.”

Everybody but Bowers, who scored 15 of his 18 in the first half as Mizzou led 23-20.

But this became a no-doubter because of Missouri’s defense, and that’s the important takeaway here.

As Missouri’s offense continues to form an identity, the defense will remain dependable, Haith believes. Mizzou coaxed a 24-percent shooting night from Tennessee State and outrebounded it 52-27.

“That’s what we are right now,” Haith said. “We’re a team right now where we need to rebound and play defense to win.”

Tennessee State went more than 12 minutes, the final 8 of the first half and first 4 of the second half with one field goal. In that span, Mizzou turned an 18-15 deficit into a 27-22 lead and the margin grew from there.

“The defense was great, especially in the second half,” Oriakhi said. “We just responded as a team. We said we had to get stops, and that’s exactly what we did. From our defensive rebounding to contesting shots, it was great.”

The defining sequence came when Missouri, 8-1, took a 32-22 lead in Negus Webster-Chan’s drive. Tennessee State looked to score quickly in transition, but Kellen Thorton’s layup was blocked by Stefan Jankovic. Jordan Cyphers was there to clean up, but his shot was blocked by Bowers.

Tennessee State wound up with another offensive rebound and a rebound for its trouble, but Mizzou made its statement: It owned the defensive rim.

Jankovic gave Missouri a lift in the second half when he scored all 14 of his points. His playing time had been diminishing; twice he’d been in double figures minutes in the first five games.

But since the Louisville loss in the Bahamas when he logged 12 minutes, Jankovic played a total of 4 minutes over the next two games and didn’t get off the bench in Tuesday’s victory over Southeast Missouri State.

He entered Saturday’s game for the first time early in the second half to help Mizzou combat Tennessee State’s zone. At the time, only Bowers could knock down a jumper. Jankovic, with a soft shooting touch for a 6-foot-11 forward, showed no rust by hitting two from deep.

“Coach always tells me to be ready,” Jankovic said.

After all, as Jankovic said, he’s still practicing and apparently performing well enough to maintain Haith’s trust.

“Coach always tells me that in practice — and I’ve heard it from other players — that’s your chance,” Jankovic said. “That’s my game sometimes. So I find myself in practice trying hardest. I’m going against guys like Alex and Laurence in practice, so I’m ready.”

It took a half, but others got in the action on the offensive end. Webster-Chan hit his first three-pointer in three games. Point guard Phil Pressey scored all five of his points in the first 4½ minutes, Keion Bell got a couple of baskets. The point is, Bowers’ shoulders could rest. He scored three in the second half as Mizzou outscored Tennessee State 45-18.

Mizzou will add a scorer to the playing rotation for its next game when Jabari Brown becomes eligible. He’s been practicing with Mizzou since transferring from Oregon a year ago, and he’ll make his debut when the Tigers face South Carolina State on Dec. 17. The 6-5 Brown played in two games for the Ducks but averaged 24 points a game as a high school senior two years ago.

Missouri will welcome any production Brown can provide. But to fit on this team, he’ll also have to bring the defense and rebounding.