Caleb Grill waited a long time to get back on the basketball court.

And after a game shooting 2-of-7 overall and 0-of-4 from 3 in the season opener against Memphis, Missouri coach Dennis Gates benched him, making him wait even longer each day.

“I benched him, he was mad at me,” Gates said. “And he responded. It’s just that simple. We hugged and made up, but I benched him. Accountability is growth and he allowed me to hold him accountable.”

He shot only 0-of-3 overall, all 3s against Howard. But he finally had the game he’s been waiting for Monday night, scoring a career-high 33 points to lead the Missouri Tigers to an 84-77 win against the Eastern Washington Eagles at Mizzou Arena.

“I really wanted to show out from the beginning, like all the work, and just have an amazing season,” Grill said. “I haven’t played a game in 11 months and I didn’t really put that into accountability. Coach holding me accountable is one of the main reasons why I came here.”

Grill shot 10-of-13 from the field, matched his career high with eight 3s, while missing only two, and hit 5-of-8 free throws to put together his new career scoring mark, not to mention bringing down nine rebounds to lead the team there, too.

“I just had the opportunity tonight to make shots,” Grill said. “It’s gonna be somebody else’s night on Thursday night. So I’m just thankful for my teammates making the right plays.”

After Missouri fell behind 12-4 on a very slow start, Grill hit two free throws, connected on his first 3, this one from the right corner and turned a steal into a fast break two-handed slam to put the Tigers in front 13-12, scoring seven of the team’s nine points in the run.

“Once (Grill) focused on his leadership and not just success meaning the ball goes in the basket, then then that means now the ball goes in the basket because that’s not his concentration,” Gates said. “... I thought he put focus on the defensive end, he took the shots that his teammates created for him and ultimately he was in the right spot.”

Mark Mitchell added a layup off a post-entry pass from Tony Perkins to put the Tigers up 15-12 with 13:20 left in the first half.

Eastern Washington tied the game at 15, but the Tigers poured in 12 of the game’s next 14 points to grow a 27-17 lead.

The Tigers built out to a 29-19 lead after Marcus Allen hit two free throws, then the dunk contest started.

Mitchell used an Allen post-entry pass to throw down a two-handed slam, then Allen caught a pass on the left wing and faked a swing to the left corner, getting the two defenders in front of him to bite, then drove the lane for a wide-open one-handed jam.

Perkins then finished off a 1:24 run with three dunks as he slammed it down in transition to put the Tigers up 35-20.

But 15 was the biggest the Tiger lead would get in the first half, though the team felt dominant from the 15:53 mark right through to a Mitchell jumper with four seconds left sent the Tigers into halftime up 45-33.

“I’m a versatile player,” Mitchell said. “I think my whole life, I’ve been inside, outside, kind of whatever the coach needs me, the team needs me to do.”

The Tigers were never able to put the Eagles away after halftime though.

Andrew Cook connected on a fast break dunk with 17:31 left, two of his 24 points to lead the Eagles, cutting the lead to 52-41, then Tyler Powell hit an and-1 jumper and made the free throw to bring Eastern Washington within 58-51 with 11:37 to play.

A Cook layup got the Eagles within 64-58 with 9:51 left as the Tigers struggled in the second half for the third consecutive game to start the season.

Nic McClain hit two free throws to cut the Eagles’ deficit all the way down to 2 at 72-70 with 5:15 to play, then Grill took over again.

The graduate guard hit a 3, then made two free throws to give the Tigers breathing space at 77-70 with 3:56 left, then added his eighth and final 3 with 1:15 to play to extend the lead to 82-75. Anthony Robinson and Tony Perkins each hit two free throws in the final two minutes to seal the win.

“I thought our guys settled in and they connected in a certain way,” Gates said. “They didn’t allow the run to frustrate them and they grew and they grew and they grew. And I thought that was a sign of maturity.”

Missouri shot 26-of-48 (54.2 percent) overall, 10-of-18 (55.6 percent) from 3 and 22-of-31 (71.0 percent) at the free-throw line. The Tigers had 13 assists to 13 turnovers and the teams tied with 28 total rebounds.

Along with Grill, Mitchell had double-digit points at 13, Perkins had five rebounds and Robinson had four rebounds and a team-high four assists.

Mason Williams added 20 points for the Eagles.

Missouri (2-1) will host Mississippi Valley State at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Head on over to the Tiger Walk to discuss the game and so much more.