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Georgia second half flop results in Dawgs falling to Missouri

Palmber-Thombsby:Palmer Thombs•02/25/23•

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Georgia (43)
Tony Walsh / UGA Sports Communications

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia Basketball looked like it had a chance on Saturday against Missouri, and the Bulldogs did for the first half. However a poor second half on Senior Day resulted in an 85-63 loss, its third straight and its ninth in 12 games. The defeat drops the Dawgs to 16-13 on the season and 6-10 in SEC play with two games to go.

Georgia honored its senior class before the game, and head coach Mike White opted to go with the five seniors as his starters. Braelen Bridges, Jaxon Etter, Jailyn Ingram, Mardrez McBride and Terry Roberts held their own, playing the first 5:32 together, and when they left, the game was tied 9-9. Bridges poured in six of those nine before going to the bench.

That’s when Kario Oquendo entered and started to take over. Oquendo hit a 3-pointer with 13:33 to put Georgia up by one, his first of eight straight points. With a M.A. Moncrieffe layup mixed in as well, Oquendo scored 13 of 15 points for Georgia in a stretch of less than four minutes to give Georgia an eight-point lead, the largest for either team.

McBride poured in a trio of 3-pointers in the final 5:57 of the half, and Roberts added one as a part of an impressive first half. The Bulldogs made eight attempts from deep and shot 48.1% overall from the field on their way to a one-point halftime lead.

The second half didn’t start quite as strong. Bridges made a jumper just 11 seconds in, but that was the only one for Georgia over the next seven minutes. That allowed Missouri to go on a 15-1 run to take an 11 point lead.

Georgia got it back to within single digits shortly, but the Bulldogs spent the final 12:40 down by at least 10. Missouri outscored Georgia 45-22 in the second half on its way to the victory.

Kario Oquendo finished as Georgia’s leading scorer on the day with 14 points while seniors Mardrez McBride and Braelen Bridges each added 12. Bridges also had 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season and third in SEC play. Meanwhile, D’Moi Hodge, Nick Honor, Noah Carter and Deandre Gholston all finished in double-figures for Missouri.

Georgia hosted Senior Day on Saturday but it’s not the Bulldogs’ last home game of the year. Arch-rival Florida comes to town on Tuesday for a reunion with its old coach. The Gators are 14-14 on the year with a game at Vanderbilt later on Saturday. Tip time Tuesday is set for 7:00 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

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