Print
Email
Share

Missouri beats Georgia 89-61

Missouri beats Georgia 89-61

Credit: AP

Missouri's Kim English, right, picks up a loose ball from Georgia's Dustin Ware, left, during the second half of their NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010, in Columbia, Mo. Missouri won the game 89-61. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

by The Associated Press

KMOV.com

Posted on January 2, 2010 at 6:09 PM

Updated Saturday, Jan 2 at 7:02 PM

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri's deep roster ran another opponent ragged.

Reserve Laurence Bowers scored a career-high 23 points, matching his previous best with 17 in the first half, leading the Tigers to an 89-61 rout over Georgia on Saturday.

Missouri's reserves outscored Georgia backups 54-16. Bowers, a 6-8 sophomore, led the team in scoring for the third time on 11-for-14 shooting.

"I thought our guys brought a tremendous amount of energy in the first half and kept it throughout the game," coach Mike Anderson said. "We scored early and I thought that we made a lot of plays that came from effort."

The Tigers' full-court pressure negated Georgia's biggest strength, the inside game. Georgia committed turnovers on five straight possessions in the first half.

"Some things you have to learn the hard way," Georgia coach Mark Fox said. "We lost our poise a little bit and we got routed. I don't think the different style is the issue, I think it's how well they do it."

Missouri (11-3) used runs of 18-2 and 12-0 to race to a 46-28 halftime lead and Georgia (7-5) couldn't make a dent in the huge deficit the rest of the way. The Tigers shot 54 percent and forced 23 turnovers, including 16 steals.

Missouri scored 35 points off the turnovers, and committed only nine turnovers.

"Teams come in here all the time thinking they're prepared for our pressure," forward Keith Ramsey said. "But when they get here, you can tell, people don't even want the ball anymore."

Missouri has won six in a row, is 9-0 at home and has won 46 in a row at home over non-conference opponents dating to the 2005-06 season.

Marcus Denmon added 13 points off the bench, going 3 for 6 from 3-point range for the Tigers. J.T. Tiller had 11 points and seven assists.

Travis Leslie led Georgia with 18 points. Trey Thompkins, the team's leading scorer with a 16.5-point average, was held to nine points in 16 minutes due to foul trouble.

"To get him out of the game, I think that threw them off a little bit," Bowers said. "I think that was a big deal for us."

Georgia had won three in a row, including a 70-67 victory over Illinois.

Missouri has won 28 in a row at home, the third-longest streak in the country.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

 

Print
Email
Share

Forgot Password?

Don't have an account?

Register Now

Member Benefits

Link your account to your Twitter or Facebook account for easier login!

Link your account to your Facebook profile Link your account to your Twitter profile

Check box to receive Free Special Offers

* - Indicates required field

Check box to receive Free Special Offers

Connecting to

You may need to allow pop up window for this step of registration

Just one more step:

Please take a moment to review the available e-mail newsletters has to offer. Place a checkbox next to the newsletters you wish to subscribe to.

Welcome.

Thank you for becoming a member of KMOV.com. You now have full access to the best local coverage and late breaking news from KMOV.com. Soon you will be redirected to the page you were seeking, and a confirmation email will be delivered to you.

You will need to respond to the confirmation e-mail for your account to be activated.

KMOV.com is dedicated to bringing you exceptional news and outstanding information services, all while personalizing it to your liking. We're sure you'll enjoy being a KMOV.com member! If you need assistance, please contact us.