Once again, the Missouri men’s basketball team wilted in the second half of a loss.
For the third time in nine SEC games, and for the second straight time, Mizzou lost a conference game it led at halftime. This time, the Tigers fell at Georgia 80-70 on Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens.
Missouri, playing its second straight game without big man Jeremiah Tilmon, led by 13 early in the second half. But the game flipped over the first 10 minutes of the second half.
The No. 20 Tigers dropped to 13-6 overall and 6-6 in SEC play. Their losing streak now stands at three games.
Unlike Saturday’s loss to Arkansas, when Missouri attempted a season high in three-pointers, the Tigers looked inside for buckets against the Bulldogs and had success. Kobe Brown finished with a career-best 21 points and Missouri got more than half its points in the paint.
But it wasn’t enough production and a poor shooting night from the perimeter hurt. Mizzou made 6 of 26 from beyond the arc.
Missouri opened a 48-35 lead before the first media timeout in the second half and was breezing on both ends of the floor.
But fouls started to add up and changed the game’s flow. The Tigers were whistled for five fouls in the first half and Georgia was in the bonus less than seven minutes into the second half. Mark Smith had collected his fourth foul — two in 28 seconds — and that threw the Tigers off.
To that point, Smith had eight points and six rebounds.
Georgia embarked on a 21-5 run, making all four three-point attempts, to take a 60-55 lead.
Mizzou answered with five straight, starting with Parker Braun’s three-pointer, his third of the season. Javon Pickett scored inside and the Tigers had it tied.
But the Tigers never regained the lead, going four late minutes without a point, and Georgia (13-8, 6-8) stretched the final margin to pick up one of its most impressive victories of the season. The Bulldogs ended their own two-game losing streak.
Missouri returns to action on Saturday at South Carolina.
In the early moments, Mizzou had trouble with the driving ability of Sahvir Wheeler. The lefty guard was getting dribble penetration and converting early.
As the half continued, the Tigers improved in contesting the lane and forcing poor shot selection. Trailing by as many as six early, Mizzou reversed the fortune and opened a 32-27 lead.
Brown was doing most of the damage, mostly near the basket. He finished a couple of two-man game assists from Braun and also used his 6-7 frame to muscle up on a variety of buckets off the drive.
Dru Smith knocked down a long three pointer to finish the first-half scoring and give the Tigers a 37-33 edge at the break.
It needed to end there for the Mizzou.
