Sean East II scores 21 as Missouri rolls past Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Sean East II scored 21 points and Tamar Bates and Nick Honor each added 18 as Missouri rolled past Arkansas-Pine Bluff 101-79 Monday in Columbia, Mo.

Caleb Grill and Noah Carter scored 15 points each for Missouri and Aidan Shaw had nine rebounds and five blocked shots for the Tigers.

Kylen Milton scored 34 points and Joe French had 30 for Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Golden Lions started the game by shooting 5-of-7 from 3-point range and they kept firing until the final horn.

But Missouri outscored Arkansas-Pine Bluff 44-28 in the paint despite playing without 7-foot-5 Oral Roberts transfer Connor Vanover, who began his three-game NCAA suspension for participating in a prohibited event.

The Tigers used 12 players and eight of them scored. They shot 56.3 percent from the floor, including 12-for-30 from 3-point range.

East hit his first two 3-point attempts and converted a back-door cut to the basket as Missouri broke out to a 14-3 lead.

French and Milton hit 3-point jumpers on consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to 16-9. Then Milton's four-point play -- on a 3-point jumper plus a free throw -- cut the margin to 20-15.

The Tigers moved out to a 35-22 lead with Grill and Honor hitting 3-point shots, then Grill made 2-of-3 free throws after getting fouled beyond the arc.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff responded with an 11-4 run, with Milton scoring eight points, to reduce the lead to 39-33.

The Golden Lions were still within nine points with 2:52 left in the first half after a 3-point play by Trejon Ware.

But Bates took over for Missouri, converting a 3-point play off a drive, tipping in his own miss, hitting a 3-point jumper, and scoring off a fast-break drive as the Tigers pushed out to their 57-40 halftime lead.

Missouri started fast in the second half. Honor scored a fast-break layup, then a deep transition 3-pointer on consecutive possessions as the Tigers extended their lead to 68-44 and gained permanent control of the game.