Missouri 89, Georgia 61
1/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2010
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Game Notes
Final Score - Missouri: 89, Georgia: 61
Attendance - 13,336
Leading Scorers - MU: Bowers, 23; GA: Leslie, 18
Mizzou Field Goal Percentage - 53.8-percent
Pregame Notes:
Missouri is 3-0 all-time against Georgia. The Tigers last defeated the Bulldogs 83-76 on Jan. 3, 2009.
First-year Georgia coach Mark Fox is familiar with the Tigers after spending time as an assistant coach at Kansas State (1994-2000).
Georgia is the second SEC team that Missouri faces this year. The Tigers are 1-1 on the season against SEC foes after dropping a tough decision at Vanderbilt earlier in the year.
Missouri enters the game ranked second nationally in steals per game (12.7) and T/O Margin (+7.5).
Mizzou swept conference honors this week as Kim English and Michael Dixon were named the Big 12 Conference's Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively.
First Half Notes: Mizzou 46, Georgia 28
The Tigers had five steals in the first five minutes alone and eight total in the first half.
Laurence Bowers tied a career high with 17 first-half points. Bowers hit 8-of-9 FGs in the first period. Over his last three quarters Bowers is a combined 13-of-14 from the floor.
Missouri's bench, led by Bowers, was outstanding in the first half. The Tiger reserves scored 31 of 46 tallies, almost equaling their season scoring average (31.5). In fact Missouri's bench outscored UGA's entire team 31-28 in the opening period.
J.T. Tiller tied his season high with three first-half steals. Tiller had three steals at Vanderbilt in early December.
Missouri did an excellent job sharing the basketball in the first half. The Tigers recorded 14 assists on 19 made field goals.
The Tigers have now shot better than 50-percent during the first half in seven of nine home games and better than 60-percent in four of those contests, after first half shooting of 65.5% against Georgia.
Second Half Notes:
Mizzou opened the second half with three straight steals and buckets in the first minute from Keith Ramsey, JT Tiller and Kim English. Tiller's rip was his fourth of the game, topping his previous season-high of three at Vanderbilt. Those baskets gave Mizzou a quick 7-0 run to open the frame.
Marcus Denmon hit two consecutive 3-pointers near the 12:00 mark to give the Tigers a 25-point lead, their largest yet.
After entering the game for the first time at the four-minute mark, freshman Tyler Stone quickly scored on the next two Missouri possessions, ending the game with 4 points and 1 rebound in just four minutes.
Post-Game Notes:
Sunday's win gives the Tigers six-straight triumphs, the longest winning streak of the season. Mizzou has topped Farleigh-Dickinson, Arkansas Pine-Bluff, Illinois, Austin Peay, UMKC, and now Georgia in the streak.
The win also extends Mizzou's non-conference home winning streak to 45-in-a-row, dating back to the 2005-06 season.
The win also gives the Tigers a 27-game winning streak inside Mizzou Arena. That mark is third in the nation among active streaks.
Laurence Bowers finished the game with a career-best 23 points, besting his previous mark of 17 points, set Wednesday against UMKC. He also contributed 3 rebounds and an assist.
Miguel Paul and Zaire Taylor each finished the game with 5 assists. JT Tiller notched 7 assists for the third time this season.
Missouri finished the game with 25 assists. It's the sixth time this season Missouri has topped 20 assists in a game this year. Missouri is 6-0 when dishing 20 or more dimes and 31-1 all-time with 20+ assists under Mike Anderson.
Three Tigers had double-digit scoring for Mizzou: Bowers had 23 points, Denmon 13 and Tiller 11.
