Georgia basketball falls to No. 21 Missouri, suffers third straight SEC loss

Then the stadium and the Bulldogs fell silent as the Tigers’ defense came to life. Missouri, which entered Saturday averaging the most steals in the SEC, forced three steals in 1:16 of game action.

UGA had protected the basketball fairly well before the run, committing just four turnovers. Georgia only got four shots during the run and missed all of them.

The Tigers held a double-digit lead the rest of the way and finished with 19 fast-break points, compared to Georgia’s 0.

The Bulldogs squandered a halftime lead for the fifth time this season, including a similar collapse on Tuesday night at No. 8 Texas A&M.

“At halftime, we’ve tried watching positive, we’ve tried watching negative, we’ve tried not watching, we’ve tried just talking, we’ve tried no talking, we’ve tried giving our guys a lot of time just on their own, we’ve tried giving them no time on their own, we’ve met in the middle‚” White said. “This is a mystery.

“I haven’t coached a team that has struggled this much early second half.”

Georgia fell to 14-3 at home this season and 2-10 in Quad 1 opportunities.

Newell led the Bulldogs with 23 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.

UGA’s attack struggled at times, but White was quick to recognize the overall effort from his offense.

Georgia finished with a 15-9 assist-to-turnover ratio, its second-best against SEC competition this season.

White was more focused on defensive struggles, and understandably so after giving up the most points at home this season. His Bulldogs also allowed 17 offensive rebounds, leading to 17 second-chance points.

“Our guards did a poor job overall helping our bigs rebound the basketball,” White said. “They had 3-point shooters that literally got their own rebound, and you don’t see that much. So just not a great effort there.”

Typically mild-mannered in news conferences, White was visibly frustrated on the sideline throughout the loss. The veteran SEC coach says he welcomes emotion, and would not mind seeing more in UGA’s last five SEC games.

“I wish we could get a little more frustrated,” White said. “Frustration boiling over, sure, let’s do it. Let’s take it out on how we block out. Let’s go get a rebound. Let’s get a stop.”

Newell and junior forward RJ Godfrey did voice some of that frustration after the loss.

“Right now, I’m pissed,” Godfrey said. “I just want to win a game.”

Georgia’s No. 2 point guard, Tyrin Lawrence, missed his second game with a hamstring injury. The Bulldogs did see top 3-point shooter Dakota Leffew return from an ankle injury, but he failed to score in the loss.

Demary, the team’s primary ball handler, did not come off the floor. He finished with 16 points, four assists and two rebounds.

Georgia will take the week off before a Saturday trip to No. 1 Auburn at 4 p.m.