Georgia Bulldogs defeat Missouri to keep NCAA hopes alive

Georgia's Yante Maten celebrates as he runs off the court after the Bulldogs beat Missouri 62-60 in the second round of the SEC men's basketball tournament Thursday in St. Louis. Maten had 21 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.
Georgia's Yante Maten celebrates as he runs off the court after the Bulldogs beat Missouri 62-60 in the second round of the SEC men's basketball tournament Thursday in St. Louis. Maten had 21 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.
photo Missouri's Michael Porter Jr. (13) reaches for a rebound between Georgia's Teshaun Hightower (10) and Yante Maten (1) during the second half in an NCAA college basketball game at the Southeastern Conference tournament Thursday, March 8, 2018, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
photo Georgia's Nicolas Claxton (33) celebrates as he runs off the court with his teammates following an NCAA college basketball game against Missouri at the Southeastern Conference tournament Thursday, March 8, 2018, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
photo Georgia's Yante Maten (1) shoots over Missouri's Jontay Porter during the second half in an NCAA college basketball game at the Southeastern Conference tournament Thursday, March 8, 2018, in St. Louis. Georgia won 62-60. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

ST. LOUIS - With the Southeastern Conference men's basketball tournament in St. Louis and heralded freshman Michael Porter Jr. returning from injury, Missouri fans were hoping to be treated to a weekend-long show from the Tigers.

Yante Maten and the Georgia Bulldogs changed those plans.

The senior standout scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Thursday afternoon as Georgia squeaked out a 62-60 victory over Missouri in the tournament's second round.

Georgia, the 12th seed, led throughout the second half, but fifth-seeded Missouri narrowed the Bulldogs' lead to two points with seven seconds left. The Tigers drew up a play for their leading scorer, Kassius Robertson, but his 3-point attempt went long.

After starting the game down 10-0, the Bulldogs (18-14), who face fourth-seeded Kentucky (21-10) at 3 p.m. today in the quarterfinals, charged back with a 12-0 run of their own. The trend continued throughout the contest: Missouri makes a run, Georgia responds.

"I felt like we got off to a very slow start but eventually found a rhythm defensively in the first half," Georgia coach Mark Fox said. "(We) were able to just kind of grind to the finish."

Maten and the Bulldogs put Missouri in foul trouble early. Missouri's big inside threats, Kevin Puryear and Jeremiah Tilmon, fouled out, while Jontay Porter finished with four fouls.

"We did a poor job of fouling," Robertson said. "We put them in the bonus really early, and they made a lot of money at the free-throw line."

Jontay Porter led Missouri (20-12) with 20 points and eight rebounds. His brother Michael, a projected lottery pick who played just two minutes in the season opener and later had surgery, finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, but he shot just 5-for-17 from the field.

He played the fifth-most minutes of Missouri players Thursday, but he shot seven more times than any of his teammates. Many questioned whether his return would hurt the team's offensive flow. And while Martin said Missouri's offense didn't function as well, he attributed that to foul trouble rather than Porter's return.

"Because of foul trouble, we put him in some spots that he wasn't accustomed to from the time he was practicing," Martin said. "I was really trying to put him in a position where he's a spot shooter."

Teshaun Hightower came up big off the bench for Georgia, matching his collegiate high of 13 points. He also played a big role in Georgia's win over Vanderbilt on Wednesday night, when he scored 13 and had six assists.

Missouri's Jontay Porter and Georgia's Maten went back and forth on the offensive end and on the boards. For Porter, the 20-point performance marked his fourth game with 15 or more points in his past five.

"He's coming in and consistently getting the work in, working on his shots, ball-handling, his passing," Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said.

Maten's 21-point performance came after he scored 25 against Vanderbilt.

"He's been just a tremendous producer for us this year," Fox said. "He can shoot 3s, he can get to the foul line, he can post up and go over both shoulders."

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