Balance was key as the No. 19 Missouri Tigers defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 84-61 Saturday at Mizzou Arena. The team improved to 18-0 at home on the season, and evened its record at 5-5 in conference play with the victory.

The Tigers earned a much needed conference victory five days after getting blown out by Kansas Jayhawks on the road.

The Tigers had 10 different players score against the Sooners, with sophomore guard Michael Dixon leading the way with 16 points. Missouri had key stretches by some unusual suspects, as junior forward Steve Moore and freshman guard Ricky Kreklow combined for 13 points in the game, while senior Justin Safford also chipped in with 11 points off the bench. The bench compiled 42 of the Tigers 84 points on the day.

“Obviously all the guys on the bench can put the ball in the hole,” Dixon said. “We just keep working on it and the intensity and energy. As you can see today, we got some points off our defense. The points come with just playing hard offensively and defensively.”

Safford, the lone senior on the Tigers, has struggled this season after coming off of a torn ACL last season.

“I don’t think I was struggling mentally, I just needed to come out how I was playing and play better,” Safford said. “I wasn’t really shooting the ball well, so this was the game to get me back on the right track.”

The Sooners got off to a hot start in the first half, hitting five of their first seven shots in the game. Oklahoma extended its lead to as much as seven points early in the first half, but a three pointer and layup by Kreklow followed by back-to-back layups by Moore gave Missouri a lead that the team controlled for the remainder of the game.

Anderson had nothing but praise for Kreklow, who has seen limited minutes as a freshman this season.

“I thought that was a big bank shot for him,” Anderson said. “Intended, unintended, it went in and that happens in basketball so maybe that will be the shot that gives him the confidence. The thing that I like about him is he’s doing all the other little things for us. He cuts, scratches, bruises in practice and there’s no difference in the game, so it was good to see him come out and have some success.”

While leading by only six at halftime, Missouri pulled away from Oklahoma early in the second half, opening with a 16-4 run. The Tigers shot 53.8 percent in the second half while hitting a whopping 14 of 16 free throws. The Tigers finished 17 of 20 for the game, while the Sooners got to the charity stripe only 10 times.

Missouri also held a 36-31 advantage on the rebounding front after being dominated on the glass in previous games. Junior forward Laurence Bowers paved the way with nine rebounds to go along with eight points.

Junior guard Marcus Denmon left the game early in the second half after taking an inadvertent elbow from fellow junior Laurence Bowers and did not return. He is expected to play Tuesday against Texas Tech.

“Well, he got a couple stitches on the face,” Anderson said. “He caught an elbow and of course that’s going to happen especially when you’re in there where the action is. So he’s got one of those war wounds, but I think he’s going to be OK.”

The Tigers continue conference play against the Red Raiders Tuesday night at Mizzou Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.