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COLUMBIA, Mo. — Mizzou basketball coach Dennis Gates has one small complaint about the performance of guard Marques Warrick.

“I would love to see him shoot more than 10 shots a game,� Gates said.

Warrick stopped at that magic number again on Wednesday night.

But 10 was more than enough this time around.

The 6-foot-3-inch spark plug scored 17 points off the bench to help the Tigers to a decisive 81-61 win over Lindenwood in front of 9,298 fans at Mizzou Arena.

Missouri (6-1) won its sixth successive game following an 83-75 season-opening loss to Memphis on Nov. 4.

Lindenwood (2-5), from the Ohio Valley Conference, has lost four of five.

Graduate senior Tony Perkins led a balanced Tigers attack with 18 points. Sophomore Trent Pierce added 12 points.

All three of the Tigers’ top scorers Wednesday did not start the contest.

“Everybody was just connecting,� said Perkins, a former two-time all-Big Ten Conference selection from the University of Iowa.

Perkins became the sixth different player to lead Mizzou in scoring this season.

Warrick, a transfer from Northern Kentucky University, recorded his season-high point total on 6 of 10 shooting that included a 3-for-7 effort from 3-point range. He drilled a pair of them in the final two minutes and five seconds of the first half to help his team carry a 37-27 lead into the break.

Gates has spent the first month of the season trying to convince Warrick to throw up a few more shots.

The Lexington, Kentucky, native still remains a little timid.

“We’re going to work on that for sure,� Warrick said of his tendency to pass up good looks.

Warrick did his damage in 27 minutes and led a stellar effort from the bench brigade, which accounted for 64 points.

And most of Warrick’s baskets seemed to come at the perfect time.

His two 3-pointers late in the first half triggered a 12-2 run over the final 3:30 that snapped a 25-all tie.

Warrick then ignited a 7-2 outburst at the outset of the second half that put the Tigers in control to stay.

“He could have easily gone for 30 (points),� Gates said. “He’s always ready. A silent assassin.�

The same can be said for Perkins, who also recorded a season high. The 6-4 winger came out with the hot hand early to allow his team to overcome a choppy start.

Part of that rough beginning can attributed to an injury to leading scorer Caleb Grill, who was carted off the floor following a blow to the back of the neck and head area just over nine minutes into the contest.

Grill’s head snapped back violently after an aggressive foul. He remained on the court before his head was immobilized and he was wheeled off the court. Grill was taken to a nearby hospital. He was reported to have feeling in his extremities, and he gave fans the thumbs-up signal as he left the court.

“He was responsive the entire time, and that was a good sign,� Gates said.

The 11-minute delay seemed to slow the Tigers for the time being until they forged in front for good with a closing run to the first half.

Josh Gray started the blitz with a 3-pointer and Aidan Shaw followed with an emphatic slam dunk. Warrick then drilled back-to-back triples in a span of 49 seconds.

Shaw started the second half with a basket before Warrick converted on a nifty drive down the lane for a 41-27 lead.

Lindenwood never got closer than to within 13 points the rest of the way.

Shaw added eight points. Anthony Robinson II and Tamar Bates had five points each to lead the starters.

The Tigers’ six-game winning streak is their longest since the 2022-23 team won its first nine games. The streak was snapped when they lost to Kansas 95-67 on Dec. 10, 2022.

“It may not have been perfect,� Gates said of Wednesday’s effort. “But they left what they had on the court.�

Lindenwood stayed close throughout the first half behind the play of Markeith Browning II, who finished with a game-high 21 points. Anias Futrell scored back-to-back baskets to tie the contest at 25-25 with 3:48 left in the opening half.

“I like a lot of things that we did tonight,� Lindenwood coach Kyle Gerdeman said. “We like how we played possession by possession.�

Mizzou will try to continue its winning ways when it hosts California on Tuesday as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge.