Georgia Bulldogs Aaron Cook and Braelen Bridges defend against Mizzou Tiger Jarron Coleman at Mizzou Arena. Coleman is a Junior starter from Indianapolis, In.
Missouri men’s basketball welcomed the Georgia Bulldogs into Mizzou Arena to cap off the regular season on Saturday. Despite the slow start, the Tigers fought back with a strong second half to defeat the Bulldogs 79-69.
The Tigers started with a sloppy offense, committing eight turnovers in the first half, including a steal by Georgia graduate guard Aaron Cook on Missouri redshirt junior guard Jarron Coleman to give the Bulldogs a 9-0 to start the game.
Missouri also struggled on defense in the first half, allowing Georgia to shoot 14-25 (56%) from the field. The Bulldogs also shot 3-5 (60%) from beyond the arc, including a 3-pointer by senior guard Noah Baumann to give Georgia a 27-17 lead with 11:57 remaining in the first.
“I told my guys to settle in,” Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin said. “I told them to settle down and focus on the task at hand.”
Sophomore forward Ronnie DeGray III led the Tigers with 10 points and a block in the first half to keep Missouri in the game.
Coleman found more success to start the second half, knocking down two 3-pointers to cut the Tiger deficit to 8 before Georgia senior guard Braelen Bridges answered with a jumper to make it 46-36 with 17:15 remaining.
The Tigers regained momentum when they started to utilize junior forward Kobe Brown more. Brown recorded three baskets on three consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to 48-45 with 14:29 remaining, forcing Georgia to call a timeout.
Missouri was able to build off that momentum behind senior guard Javon Pickett, who scored his first basket of the night on a drive to the rim to tie the game at 51 apiece. Coleman then drained another 3-pointer to give Missouri its first lead of the game at 54-52 with 10:48 remaining.
On his senior day, Pickett rose to the occasion in the second half. He added on to the Tigers’ lead with a floater to beat the shot-clock and a fast-break layup to give Missouri a 64-54 lead with 6:24 remaining.
“In the first half, I was taking too many jump shots,” Pickett said. “In the second half, I was focusing more on layups, and my teammates were able to find me.”
Georgia earned trips to the free-throw line to trim the Tigers’ lead to 5 before Brown broke the full-court press with an alley-oop to freshman forward Trevon Brazile for a dunk to give Missouri a 71-64 lead.
After a made 3-pointer from Cook cut Georgia’s deficit to 6 points with 1:51 remaining, Missouri locked down defensively and made free-throws to seal the game.
Brown led the Tigers with 21 points and two assists. Pickett, Coleman and DeGray III all recorded 12 points each.
“It felt good to finally come out with a win,” Coleman said. “It was a good type of win to come back in the second half and get it done.”
Missouri finished the regular season at 11-20 overall and 5-13 in conference play.
Edited by Brandon Haynes | bhaynes@themaneater.com