Plagued by another mediocre shooting performance, No. 12 Missouri found itself tied at halftime with La Salle in the Cancun Challenge Finals.

That is until junior guard Marcus Denmon single-handedly shot the Tigers out of their slump, and led them to an 83-71 victory Wednesday.

The Tigers (4-0) must have been having flashbacks from last year’s loss to Richmond, another Atlantic-10 team, in the final of the South Padre Island Invitational. But Denmon wouldn’t let that happen.

Denmon went off for 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting, including 5 for 10 from 3-point range. Denmon was 3 for 13 against Wyoming on Tuesday, and was replaced in Wednesday's starting lineup by junior college transfer Matt Pressey.

Missouri also got help off the bench from junior college transfer Ricardo Ratliffe, who scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. The Tigers bench outscored the starting lineup 49-34.

The Tigers had four turnovers, compared to 18 for the Explorers. Missouri shot 40.5 percent from the field though, including 9 for 28 from 3-point range, and were outrebounded 36-35.

Senior guard Ruben Guillandeaux scored a team-high 13 points for the Explorers (4-2), who shot 51.9 percent from the field.

The win was the Tigers’ fourth in seven days. They have three days off before taking on Arkansas-Pine Bluff at home on Sunday.