Missouri freshman basketball players Wes Clark and Shane Rector and football players Aarion Penton and Shaun Rupert were arrested Saturday night on suspicion of possession of 35 grams or less of marijuana.

The arrest has thrown the status of Clark and Rector up in the air and could leave the Tigers shorthanded with only three guards and seven scholarship players plus walk-on Danny Feldmann when they tip off against Davidson at 8 p.m. tomorrow at Mizzou Arena in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

Coach Frank Haith said in a meeting with reporters this afternoon that both players have been suspended for a "violation of a team rule." He said he is still reviewing the incident that led to their suspension.

"I�ve spoken to those guys once. I will speak with them again," he said. "They will not be at practice today until we gather more information with what happened."

Columbia Police officers pulled over a car driven by Rupert at 11:32 p.m. after seeing that the rear license plate was expired, Officer Latisha Stroer said. The traffic stop took place in the Commerce Bank parking lot at 501 E Broadway.

Officers detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle as they made contact with Rupert, Stroer said. They located a Swisher Sweet cigarillos package containing a substance that field-tested positive for marijuana.

Rupert, Penton, who was riding in the passenger seat, and Clark and Rector, who were riding in the back seat, were all arrested. Each was issued a summons and released.

Clark, from Romulus, Mich., has been the Tigers� top reserve this season, averaging 4.1 points and 2.1 assists in 20.4 minutes per game. Rector, from New York, has played sparingly and totaled 10 points, three assists and 10 turnovers in 22 games, though he did score three points and pick up two steals Thursday in double overtime of MU's Southeastern Conference Tournament victory over Texas A&M.

Should both remain suspended, the Tigers will have to take on Davidson with only starters Jordan Clarkson, Jabari Brown and Earnest Ross and walk-on reserve Feldmann available to play on the perimeter. Feldmann, a 6-foot-9 Helias graduate who began his college career at Ivy League member Columbia University before transferring to MU, has gone scoreless in 19 minutes this season.

Haith said the potential effect on his team's depth won't influence any decisions made about the availability of his two freshman guards.

"That ain�t got nothing to do with it," Haith said. "We�ve got a program here, and we have high standards we expect from our student-athletes, so no, it�s not going to factor into any of that. We�re going to make decisions based on what is right for the development of our program."

Football team spokesman Chad Moller, in an email, wrote that Penton and Rupert are both "suspended immediately per athletic policy, pending internal review."

Penton, a cornerback from St. Louis, has been working with the first-string defense at one of the Tiges' cornerback spots during spring practice after registering 16 tackles and intercepting one pass as a true freshman last fall. Rupert is a third-string free safety Montgomery, Ala., who redshirted this season.

This version of the story appeared only in the online edition of the Tribune. To view the story as it appeared in the Monday, March 17, 2014 print edition of the Columbia Daily Tribune, click here.�