By: Matthew Terry

It was too little, too late for the Missouri Tigers as they dropped their third straight game in a 60-57 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. The Tigers shot a poor 19-of-53 from the field (35.8 percent), and just 4-of-11 from beyond the arc. Mizzou was dominated on both sides of the court by Georgia’s sophomore forward Yante Maten. Maten shot 10-of-21 from the field scoring 21 points, while also grabbing 12 rebounds (five offensive, seven defensive) and blocking six shots. For the Tigers, Terrence Phillips and Namon Wright both tallied 12 points, while Kevin Puryear got 10 points. Puryear also nabbed seven rebounds, leading all Mizzou players.

In the first half, neither team could seem to find the bottom of the net. Twice, Missouri went four or more minutes without scoring, while Georgia missed their first six shots and did not lead until the 7:36 mark. Throughout the first half, Georgia nabbed nine offensive rebounds, most of them by Maten. Mizzou got off to a hot start, shooting 5-of-6, but cooled off majorly, ending the half 8-of-23 from the field. The Tigers led for 16:18 of the first half.

The second half was a much different story than the first, from the Georgia side. It took six minutes in the second half for the Bulldogs to score as many baskets as they did in the first. Both teams shot very well to start the half, but the Tigers cooled off, and the Bulldogs went on a 14-0 run that proved to be the big difference maker. Down by as much as 16, Missouri tried to fight back but ultimately could not overcome the large deficit.