COLUMBIA | Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon &mdash; needing true freshman Michael Dixon to run the point for the team Nixon was coaching in Missouri&rsquo;s Black & Gold Basketball Scrimmage &mdash; exercised executive privilege.</p><p> Dixon, playing in his first college game situation after a standout career at Lee&rsquo;s Summit West High School, fouled out of the scrimmage with 1.1 seconds left in the first half.</p><p> &ldquo;Ask him what I did at half,&rdquo; Nixon said.</p><p> Before Dixon could answer, teammate Kim English spilled the beans.</p><p> &ldquo;He pardoned him,&rdquo; English said.</p><p> Dixon played on. He scored 22 points, 11 of them after he would have been banished from a normal college, high school, middle school or grade school basketball game.</p><p> With 14 minutes, 13 seconds left in the second half, Dixon picked up a sixth foul, which would have disqualified him from an NBA game.</p><p> No wonder the Black squad won 91-82, though 32 points by English helped. And, to be fair, the Gold&rsquo;s Miguel Paul was allowed to play on after picking up his fifth foul in the second half on the way to a squad-high 19 points.</p><p> Dixon was already taking a good ribbing from his teammates when he was tripped up by the first question of the media conference after the scrimmage.</p><p> Asked whether he had ever had more than six fouls in one game, Dixon blinked, then deadpanned: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think so. Maybe in an all-star game.&rdquo;</p><p> Dixon said he couldn&rsquo;t remember having fouled out of a game his senior year in high school.</p><p> &ldquo;Maybe one,&rdquo; he corrected.</p><p> &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I ever got five fouls in a half before.&rdquo;</p><p> Dixon, by this time playing along with the razzing he was receiving, blamed Nixon for not pulling him after his fourth foul of the first half.</p><p> This event &mdash; with 5,324 in attendance at Mizzou Arena &mdash; was all fun and games. The defense that spurred Mizzou to a 31-7 record and an Elite Eight finish in the NCAA Tournament a year ago took the night off.</p><p> Paul, J.T. Tiller (15 points), Marcus Denmon (12), Laurence Bowers (16 and nine rebounds) and Justin Safford (14) all scored in double figures for the Gold team.</p><p> Joining Dixon and English in double-figure scoring for the Black squad was Zaire Taylor with 19 points.</p><p> &ldquo;With five guys, there&rsquo;s no sub waiting for you,&rdquo; English said. </p><p>&ldquo;I took a lot of shots (12 for 21). It was all in fun. The end justified the means.&rdquo;</p><p> Or rather, where there was a will, there was a way for Nixon.</p><p> Asked whether his pardon of Dixon would pass muster in the courts of Missouri, Nixon said: &ldquo;Certainly. We won.&rdquo;</p><p> Then, showing he knows which side of the Border War he occupies, the Missouri governor delivered a rim shot.</p><p> &ldquo;I hope to not have to use it when KU is here,&rdquo; Nixon said, &ldquo;but it&rsquo;s nice to have that weapon if you need it.&rdquo;