COLUMBIA, Mo.- Missouri broke open a close game with a 14 unanswered points and went on to defeat Savannah State 74-45 before a crowd of 3,394 at Mizzou Arena.

Savannah State trailed by 10 but a 3-pointer by Patrick Hardy pulled SSU within 46-39 with 11:03 remaining.

Missouri replied with a 14-0 run to go ahead 60-39 with just over five minutes left.

A Arnold Louis layup cut SSU's deficit to 19 with 3:35 on the clock but Missouri finished the game with a 12-2 run to win by 29 points.

Hardy led Savannah State (5-12) with 14 points. Hardy made four-of-six 3-point shots and hit both of his free throw attempts. Rashad Hassan scored eight points and Louis added a game-high 12 rebounds to go with his six points.

Savannah State out-rebounded Missouri (12-3) 38 to 36.

SSU led by as many as four points in the first half and held its last lead with 10 minutes left after a Hardy 3-pointer.

The teams were tied at 23 with 3:37 left in the period and Missouri led 28-25 at halftime.

Missouri led by eight early in the second half but SSU battled back to close within 37-33 after a jumper by Tracy Rankins with 13:32 left.

Kim English had 13 points for Missouri.

Missouri , who exploded for 46 points in the second half, shot 47.4 percent from the floor for the game.