Georgia dominates the end of the game to secure win over No. 20 Missouri
ATHENS- Unlike the last two games, coach Tom Crean’s program finally executed when it mattered most, and Georgia rode that to a strong victory over No. 20 Missouri.
Questions centered around Crean’s job security will temporarily come to a halt, because that was Georgia’s best win of the season. Georgia (13-8, 6-8) completely took over the last 10 minutes of the game to down Missouri (13-6, 6-6) by a score of 80-70.
“Execution obviously is a big part of it. Putting multiple stops together is a big part of that. Being active defensively (is a big part of it),” Crean said.
Execution is something that Georgia lacked in the second half of the last two losses, so tonight’s play in the latter half is encouraging as they move forward towards the SEC tournament.
Winning this game did not seem realistic for Georgia coming out of the half. The beginning of the second half was nothing less of a disaster for Georgia. They kicked off play with three turnovers before they even got off a shot attempt and Missouri climbed to a lead that reached as high as 13 points.
Then, the previously unthinkable happened. The Bulldogs overcame a somewhat large deficit to a better team to beat them by double digits, and the socially distanced crowd went berserk.
The loudest came after PJ Horne and Justin Kier drilled back to back threes to take a 60-55 lead. Horne’s shot marked Georgia’s first lead of the second half and Kier’s cemented the Bulldogs’ momentum. Those shots capped off a 25-7 run that spanned over seven minutes.
Georgia shot 46.7 % from deep, which is a huge improvement from what their percentages wer4e in the last two games. In turn, Missouri failed to outshoot Georgia, finishing 6/26 from beyond the arc.
Missouri lost the rebounding battle to Georgia, but when examining that number, it is important to note that Missouri’s leading rebounder Jeremiah Tilmon was out due to a death in his family. Nonetheless, the Bulldogs edged Missouri 34-31 in total rebounds.
The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Kier, who scored 10 of his 16 points in the first 10 minutes of the game. He came out of the gate and hit his first four shots. He disappeared for a while in terms of scoring, but his shots in the second half were nothing short of important.
Kier was the leading scorer, but not by much. Toumani Camara scored 15 himself, and Georgia has five players in double figures. Jaxon Etter was close with nine points.
Up Next
A rematch with Florida is scheduled to tip-off at 3:30 on Saturday. The Gators handled Georgia 92-84 in Stegeman Coliseum in January. Georgia has a chance to achieve a winning record in the conference but has to win out in order to do so.