Missouri Tigers blow past Washington U in lone preseason game. Season opener is Monday

The Dennis Gates era at Missouri got off to a good start Thursday night with an 89-61 preseason victory against Washington University at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.

Gates is in his first season as head coach of the Tigers. Mizzou is looking to improve on last season’s 12-21 mark.

Preseason All-SEC first-team forward Kobe Bryant led the Tigers, who are loaded with a dozen players new to the program, with 25 points and 11 rebounds against the NCAA Div. III opponent from St. Louis.

MU guard D’Moi Hodge hit three of four three-point attempts and finished with nine points. Missouri, which led 45-30 at halftime, was 5 of 18 as a team from three-point range.

Guard Isiaih Mosley added 11 points with four assists for the Tigers, who shot 56% from the field as a team to the Bears 42%. Washington U turned it over 16 times to the Tigers’ 11.

Twelve players scored for the Tigers, who outrebounded their guests 38 to 33. MU center Mabor Majak, who played two minutes, was the 13th player Gates used Thursday night and the only one who didn’t record a bucket.

Brown, expected to be the veteran leader for the Tigers this season, was 11 of 15 overall from the floor in 26 minutes of action.

Forward Drake Kindsvater was the only Washington U player to reach double-figure scoring (12 points).

The Tigers play host to Southern Indiana in their official season opener Monday night at Mizzou Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 9:25 PM.