The Lights On Georgia's Season Stay on with a Win over Missouri in the First Round of the SEC Touurnament
Nashville, TN – The Georgia Bulldogs faced the Missouri Tigers in the second game of the first round of the SEC Tournament yesterday and came out on top 64-59. The 11th-seeded Dawgs continue in the tournament tomorrow against Florida, while the 14th-seeded Tigers’ season is now over.
After graduate student center Russel Tchewa won the opening tipoff for the Dawgs, both teams failed to score on their opening possessions. Freshman Blue Cain added to the scoreboard first when he sank a three-point jumper with 18:42 left. Missouri responded and recorded its first points of the game over two minutes later when junior guard Tamar Bates hit a three-point jumper. Georgia later went on a 10-0 run, starting with 15:58 left on the clock and ending with 11:55, to go up 13-3. Missouri scored for just the second time in the game at the 11:33 mark when Bates made a two-point jumper. The Tigers started to cut into the Bulldogs lead with two back-to-back field goals to make it a six-point game (18-24) with four minutes still in the half. Missouri continued this trend and closed the half with a minute and a half of a 7-0 run to head into the locker room down 30-31.
The Tigers won the jump ball to start the second and scored in 16 seconds with a layup and one from Bates to take their first lead of the game, 33-31. From here, the Tigers would lead for 17:57. UGA got off to a cold start but scored off another Cain three-pointer with 17:10 remaining. Missouri tried to expand its lead, which peaked at eight points with 14:07 left. UGA, however, struggled to make a field goal as the Dawgs managed two points from two free throws until graduate student guard Noah Thomasson knocked down a three-point jumper at the 10:11 mark to make it a four-point game (41-45). The team traded baskets, but Cain made it a one-point game after nailing another three-pointer at the 6:10 mark. The Tigers rebounded by going on a 6-0 run, going up 59-52 with 3:40 left on the clock. Twenty-three seconds later, senior Justin Hill made a field goal to give the Dawgs two. This was the start of a 12-0 run, which shut out Missouri for the rest of the game. The Bulldogs took their first lead of the half with a minute and a half remaining during this run and closed the game out on top, 64-59.
The Bulldogs shot well from behind the arc, going 41.4% on 29 attempts, and were successful on field goals, shooting 40.0% from field goal range. UGA struggled from behind the line, going 57.1%, but were able to make the shots that mattered most, as Cain and Hill each nailed two in the final 15 seconds of the game. In contrast, the Tigers shot 90% on 10 attempts from the line. Missouri, however, did not have as much success at three-point range, going 4-21 (19.0%) from behind the arc. The Tigers shot 38.3% from field goal range.
Cain led the shooting attack for the Dawgs, putting up 19 total and shooting 55.6% on 10 attempts behind the arc. Three other Bulldogs crossed into the double-digit range: Hill (17), Thomasson (10), and junior guard R.J. Melendez (10). Cain was also the co-assist leader with three, alongside freshman forward Dylan James. Georgia grabbed 32 total rebounds, and Tchewa led with six of these rebounds. Cain, James, and freshman guard Silas Demary Jr. each followed with 5 rebounds.
Missouri also had four athletes in the double-digit sourcing range. Senior guard Nick Honor led with 14, senior forward Noah Carter and Bates each had 11, and senior forward Connor Vanover claimed 10. Vanover had a double-double last night, collecting 10 rebounds. The Tigers grabbed 42 rebounds as a team (10 more than UGA); Vanover led, and senior guard Sean East II followed with 8. East II was Missouri’s leading distributor of the night with five assists.
This was one of many close games the Bulldogs have competed in this season; nine other games have been one-possession games in the last 30 seconds. Georgia's perseverance is evident, and the Bulldogs move on to play Florida tonight in the second round of the SEC Tournament at 9:30 PM EST.
Other Georgia News:
- Bulldogs Come Up Big with 69-66 Home Win Over Ole Miss
- Bulldogs Add Sixth Game to Losing Streak After Being Up over Florida
- UGA Suffers Fourth Consecutive Loss after Falling to Mississippi State
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