EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – A crowd of 1,025 watched as No. 9 Missouri wrestling upended SIUE 36-7 at the Vadalabene Center.

SIUE's victories came from Nate Higgins at 157 pounds and Chris Johnson at heavyweight.

Higgins, a redshirt freshman from nearby Millstadt, Illinois, won his home debut as a Cougar with a 13-4 major decision over Missouri's Matt Lemanowicz.

Higgins dominated the match with four takedowns. He grabbed a 5-0 lead after two periods and controlled the tempo of the match.

Johnson blanked James Romero in the heavyweight match 5-0. Neither wrestler scored in the first two periods after Johnson rode Romero for the full two minutes of the second period. Johnson gained a reversal in the third period and earned a quick two points by putting Romero on his back. His final point was by earning the riding-time point.

Missouri was in control of the match with two falls, a technical fall and four major decisions. It was the season opener for the Tigers. SIUE fell to 0-3.

The Cougars now have a quick turnaround for the Lindenwood Open on Saturday. Missouri, Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Northern Illinois are expected to be among the team's competing in the day-long event.

Missouri 36 SIUE 7
125 - Barlow McGhee (Missouri) over Troy Gassaway (SIUE) (MD 16-5)
133 - Zach Synon (Missouri) over Dakota Leach (SIUE) (MD 10-2)
141 - Matt Manley (Missouri) over Angelo Silvestro (SIUE) (MD 16-4)
149 - Lavion Mayes (Missouri) over John Fahy (SIUE) (Dec 11-6)
157 - Nate Higgins (SIUE) over Matt Lemanowicz (Missouri) (MD 13-4)
165 - Daniel Lewis (Missouri) over Erik Travers (SIUE) (Fall 0:58)
174 - Timothy Miklus (Missouri) over Clayton Bass (SIUE) (MD 15-5)
184 - Willie Miklus (Missouri) over Derek Nagel (SIUE) (Fall 2:49)
197 - J`Den Cox (Missouri) over Jake Tindle (SIUE) (TF 25-10 6:33)
285 - Chris Johnson (SIUE) over James Romero (Missouri) (Dec 5-0)