Toumani Camara had 15 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots as the Georgia Bulldogs upset the No. 20 Missouri Tigers 80-70 Tuesday night in Athens, Ga.
The Bulldogs (13-8, 6-8 Southeastern Conference) erased a 13-point, second-half deficit to win for the fourth time in the past six games.
Justin Kier (16 points, five rebounds), Sahvir Wheeler (12 points, seven rebounds, six assists), Andrew Garcia (13 points) and K.D. Johnson (10 points, five rebounds, four steals) also had strong games for Georgia.
Kobe Brown scored 21 points for the reeling Tigers (13-6, 6-6), who lost their third straight game.
The Tigers played without starting center Jeremiah Tilmon, who missed his second game due to a death in his family. In his absence, Brown provided strong inside offense.
But with Tilmon absent, the Bulldogs outrebounded the Tigers 34-31 and shot 49.1 percent from the floor by attacking the rim.
As expected, the Bulldogs pushed a brisk offensive pace in the opening minutes. They moved out to a quick 14-8 lead with Wheeler and Kier combining for 11 points with dribble drives to the basket.
Missouri settled for 3-point shots early on and missed 8 of 10 tries from behind the arc during the first eight minutes of the game.
After Georgia established a 23-17 lead, the Tigers countered with an 11-0 run with Brown scoring seven points in the paint.
The Bulldogs rallied to pull ahead 33-32, but the Tigers scored the last five points of the first half with another drive by Brown and a 3-point jumper by Dru Smith.
Missouri turned up its defensive pressure to start the second half. Mark Smith's steal and layup triggered a 9-0 run that pushed their lead to 13 points.
The Bulldogs countered with a 25-7 surge to take a 60-55 lead. Jaxon Etter scored seven points to spark that comeback.
Parker Braun hit a 3-point jumper for the Tigers to stop the run, but the Bulldogs regained control with Camara's three-point play off a missed free throw and Wheeler's 3-point jumper.
--Field Level Media
Missouri | Georgia | |
Kobe Brown 21 | Scoring | Justin Kier 16 |
Xavier Pinson 4 | Assists | Sahvir Wheeler 6 |
Mark Smith 7 | Rebounds | Toumani Camara 8 |
Kobe Brown 5 | Free Throws Made | K.D. Johnson 6 |
Mark Smith 3 | Steals | K.D. Johnson 4 |
Parker Braun 3 | Blocks | Toumani Camara 2 |