Georgia-Missouri boxscore

Miscues plague Bulldogs in 83-76 loss to Missouri

By: FLETCHER PAGE

Posted: 1/5/09

The Georgia men's basketball team started 2009 in frustrating fashion, as turnovers and missed free-throws characterized an 83-76 loss to Missouri Saturday at Stegeman Coliseum.

The Bulldogs (9-5) turned the ball over 23 times, leading to 30 Missouri points. Georgia struggled at the free-throw line, missing eight shots in a back-and-forth contest featuring seven lead changes.

"We knew coming into this game that they were going to force a lot of turnovers," said Georgia senior Terrance Woodbury. "We had some extra turnovers we didn't really need and it led to their run they had."

Woodbury was back in the starting lineup after missing four games with an aggravated ankle sprain. Woodbury rebounded from the injury with a game high 27 points, including 5-of-8 from beyond the 3-point arc.

"He was huge for us," said Georgia point guard Zac Swansey. "We didn't know if he was going to play or not and he hit a couple of big time 3's for us. He had a good start and was especially big for the whole game."

The wheels fell off for Woodbury and the Bulldogs as the Tigers (12-2) ran off a 10-2 run with 7:15 left in the ballgame to push the lead to 61-52.

"There was a three-minute span where we let the game get away from us," said Georgia head coach Dennis Felton. "We strung together some turnovers and had some defensive breakdowns at the same time and let them hit two 3's in that stretch."

Georgia freshmen Travis Leslie and Trey Thompkins answered with two layups to pull to within five, but Missouri answered with a Matt Lawrence 3-pointer. Missouri extended the lead to 71-56 on a free-throw from senior DeMarre Carroll.

The Bulldogs fought back, behind 3-point baskets from Thompkins, Woodbury, and senior Corey Butler, but Missouri withstood the late surge winning by seven.

"That's their thing is 40 minutes of hell," Zac Swansey said. "That's their game and that's what they preach…We handled it well at times and I think if you go back and look at the game you can see the times we handled it we got some easy baskets. I think a few times we were rushed and they got some turnovers and easy baskets."

Missouri mixed up its defensive looks the entire game, running zone presses most of the afternoon to speed up the tempo and wear down the Bulldogs.

"Every now and then we're going to get worn down because that's not the way we play," Thompkins said. "At the same time we can't give up to teams like that. They have athletes and guys who play hard, but we have guys who play just as hard."

Joining Woodbury in double figures were Thompkins and Leslie, who scored 18 and 10 respectively. Leslie also pulled down eight rebounds, just missing his first career double-double.

Missouri displayed a more balanced attack as five players scored in double digits, as junior Zaire Taylor and Carroll each poured in 17.