COLUMBIA- In Javon Pickett’s final game, he hoped to have had a better performance. When it mattered most, Pickett would step up to the stage. As the lone senior, he showed how important he was for this team the last four years.
The game did not start off as the Tigers wanted, but when the second half came around and Pickett got more into the game, Missouri followed his lead and got the win in his final home game of his Mizzou career, beating the Georgia Bulldogs 79-69.
The first half was sluggish for the Tigers, as Georgia was capitalizing on the Tigers’ turnovers problems in the first half. Georgia got off to a very fast start that would see the Bulldogs make their first ten field goals of the game. The Bulldogs would not miss their first field goal of the game until a little over eight minutes into the first half.
The Tigers would fall to a very early deficit due to their turnover problems in the first half. Mizzou would commit 8 turnovers in the first half and the Bulldogs would capitalize, making 17 points from those turnovers.
The game never seemed out of reach, though. While the Dawgs would make the most of their opportunities from the turnovers, the Bulldogs would only go into halftime leading by 9. Ronnie DeGray III kept the Tigers in the game, scoring 10 points in the first half, including making 2 out of his 3 field goals from behind the arc.
When the Tigers came back out of the second half, you could feel a different vibe from their team. They really wanted to get a win for Pickett, and it showed: Mizzou came out like predators hunting for blood. Mizzou would shoot 12-for-20 to start the second half, including 4-for-7 behind the arc: a complete turnaround from the first half, where they shot 12-for-23 and only went 3-for-11 from behind the arc.
Pickett would lead that massive turnaround. Pickett did not start his final game at Mizzou Arena as much as he would’ve liked, going 0-for-7 on the court in the first half. When he finally made his first shot a little close to 8 minutes into the second half, he became a man on the mission. His shot tied the game for Mizzou for the first time since the first minute of the game. Pickett would follow that by making three of the Tigers’ next four field goals and would propel the Tigers to a lead that would reach double digits.
Georgia would only shoot an awful 14% on field goals in the second half, including 1-for-7 behind the arc.
The Tigers would outscore Georgia by almost 20 in the second half: a dramatic turnaround from the first. Boogie Coleman and Kobe Brown would also have phenomenal games against Georgia, too: Brown scored 21 points, making 8-for-11 of his shots in the game, while Boogie Coleman would score 12 points, going 4-for-8 the entire game and 3-for-6 behind the arc.
The Tigers now head to Tampa for their SEC Tournament play. The Tigers will play the Ole Miss Rebels in their first-round matchup on Wednesday at 5 p.m. CT to kick the SEC Tournament off.