Javon Pickett scored 18 points and Missouri held off a second-half rally to open its season with a 78-68 victory against Central Michigan in a nonconference game Tuesday night in Columbia, Mo.

The Tigers, coming off a 16-10 season, also got big contributions from a trio of transfers.

Amari Davis (Green Bay) and Boogie Coleman (Ball State) each scored 14 points and Ronnie DeGray III (UMass) added 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Tigers. Kobe Brown, along with Pickett the only two returnees who played significant minutes for coach Cuonzo Martin, scored nine of his 10 points in the second half and added nine boards.

Pickett made a 3-pointer with 3:09 remaining after the Chippewas pulled within 64-62 coming out of the final media timeout.

Central Michigan was led by Jermaine Jackson Jr., a graduate transfer from Long Island, who had 19 points and five assists. Miroslav Stafl added 15 points, the only other CMU player to finish in double digits.

CMU held a 14-8 lead with 13:09 left in the half after Jackson made a pair of 3-pointers.

The Chippewas were still up 19-16 with 10:06 left when Coleman made a 3 to tie the score and spark an 8-0 run, which included a trey by Davis and two free throws by DeGray after he was fouled attempting a 3-pointer.

The Tigers closed the half with a 15-4 run, sparked by another 3-pointer by Coleman and fast-break layups off turnovers by Pickett and Davis to make it 45-29 at the intermission.

Coleman made another 3 to open the second half, boosting the Tigers to their largest lead at 48-29 before the Chippewas rallied.

The Chippewas went 7-16 last season and made their debut under new coach Tony Barbee, who spent the past seven years on John Calipari's staff at Kentucky after previous head coaching experience at UTEP and Auburn.

Missouri had only nine scholarship players available. Kansas State transfer DaJuan Gordon was ruled ineligible by the NCAA for the opener for playing in an unsanctioned summer league game, and freshmen Kaleb Brown and Trevon Brazil were sidelined by illness and injury, respectively.

--Field Level Media