COLUMBIA, Mo. – Frank Haith thinks his Missouri team was “too cool,” and it cost the 21st-ranked Tigers the nation’s longest home-court winning streak.
“I hate cool,” the Tigers coach said Wednesday after losing 70-64 in overtime to Georgia. “We were really too cool and I don’t like cool. Cool gets you beat and we got beat tonight.”
Jabari Brown had 19 points and Earnest Ross added 15, but Ross missed a desperation 3-point attempt in the final seconds trailing 68-64. Missouri (12-2, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) had won 26 consecutive games at home dating back to Feb. 21, 2012, when it lost to Kansas State. In his third season, Haith lost for only the second time in 42 home games.
Jordan Clarkson, who missed from the top of the key at the end of regulation, had 12 points.
Missouri led 63-58 with 2:51 remaining in overtime after a three-point play by Ross. But Georgia’s Nemanja Djurisic hit the tying 3-pointer with 1:39 to go, and Kenny Gaines and Brandon Morris hit a pair of free throws apiece in the final half-minute.
“It’s definitely going to sting, especially losing at home, but we have to have a short memory and we have to bounce back,” Clarkson said. “We can’t let one loss turn into two. We have to go get a road win and I know we’ll come prepared to do that.”
Missouri will face Auburn on Saturday.
Georgia’s Charlie Mann scored 18 points, including the go-ahead basket with 35.8 seconds to go in overtime, and Djurisic finished with 16 points after tying a career high with four 3-pointers.
Mann pulled up in the lane before hitting the go-ahead basket less than a half-minute after Brown missed a 3.
The Bulldogs (7-6, 1-0) had lost consecutive road games by double digits at George Washington and Colorado and was a double-digit underdog against Missouri.
“We didn’t have the right look about us,” Haith said. “Hopefully we can learn from it. The toughness thing is something that’s hard for a coach to accept. You have to compete and that’s hard for me.
“We didn’t compete.”
Even with Morris’ free throws at the end, Georgia was 13 for 26 at the line with Marcus Thornton just 1 for 6. Djurisic was 4 for 5 from 3-point range, matching his career best, after being held to four points his last game.
Georgia entered hitting just 65 percent from 3-point range, 12th in the conference.
Mann missed a 3-pointer for the lead with 24 seconds left in regulation and Clarkson held the ball before missing a bid to end it with about a second to go. Georgia ended a four-game losing streak against Missouri.
Missouri also was vulnerable in its previous game, trailing most of the first half before pulling away to beat Long Beach State by 10 on Saturday. The Tigers had been 4-1 trailing at the half, rallying to beat UCLA and North Carolina State, with the other loss to Illinois.
Missouri opened the second half on a 12-4 run and took the lead at 35-34 on another 3-pointer by Ross. Georgia went 7:10 between baskets in the second half.
Missouri spotted the Bulldogs eight points to start the game before settling in, and the Tigers got their first lead on a 3-pointer by Ross that made it 20-19 with about 6 minutes remaining. That lasted a half-minute before Djurisic answered with two straight 3s to key an 11-0 run that gave Georgia it’s largest lead at 30-20 before Missouri finished the half with five points in a row.
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