First half

•  Key play: Stefan Jankovic went behind his back on a fast break, was fouled and converted the layup, making the score 41-18 with 2:49 left. He missed the free throw, but MU snared the rebound and Jankovic later scored on a running hook.

•  Key stat: South Carolina State shot a miserable 21.9 percent from the field in the first half.

Second half

•  Key play: A fast-break layup with 10:43 left gave senior forward Laurence Bowers 1,001 points in his Missouri career, making him the 44th Tiger to achieve that feat.

•  Key stat: Missouri went one for 13 on three-pointers in the second half, but still managed to shoot 59 percent from the field after halftime, a nod to its efficiency in the paint.

Milestone for Bowers

Laurence Bowers, who joined former teammates Marcus Denmon and Kim English in scoring more than 1,000 career points, received a standing ovation from the crowd later in the game.

“It means a lot, finally getting over that plateau,” Bowers said. “Last year when I got hurt, I was like man, I’m never going to get it. But it’s a big deal. Joining Marcus and Kimmie, I’m kind of in competition with those guys. I know I might not surpass them as far as scoring points, but I definitely want to surpass them as far as the season we have.”

Coach Frank Haith was complimentary of his fifth-year senior forward.

“He should be commended,” Haith said. “I’m very honored to have had the opportunity to coach him. The young man has really worked hard to get his game to where it is, and he’s going to score a lot more points.”

• Haith opted to start freshman forward Stefan Jankovic and senior guard Keion Bell on Monday, in place of freshman guard Negus Webster-Chan and junior guard Earnest Ross, the regular starters.

“I don’t put a premium on who starts, but this week I wanted our guys competing and I wanted us to get better as a basketball team, so I challenged them how hard you practice will determine who much playing time you get, basically, because we’ve got a lot of guys.’

• Missouri wore green ribbons on its jerseys in remembrance of the victims in the school shooting in Newtown, Conn.