College Basketball

Tchewa leads Georgia to 9th straight win, tops Missouri 75-68 in SEC opener

Georgia-Mizzou Georgia head coach Mike White is seen on the sidelines during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Missouri Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024, in Columbia, Mo. Georgia won 75-68. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) (Jeff Roberson/AP)

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Russel Tchewa scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Georgia closed out a 75-68 win at Missouri in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon.

The win, Georgia’s ninth straight, snaps a three-game losing streak to Missouri and narrows its deficit in the all-time series to 11-9. The Bulldogs’ current win streak is the program’s longest since the 2010-11 season, when Georgia won nine straight en route to an NCAA tournament berth.

Aidan Shaw dunked to put Missouri (8-6, 0-1) up 65-63 with just under five minutes left, but Georgia (11-3, 1-0) answered with back-to-back 3-pointers from Justin Hill and Silas Demary Jr. Tchewa hit 3 of 4 from the free-throw line to put the Bulldogs up 72-65 with 1:11 left.

Georgia’s bench continued its season-long record of out-scoring its opposition. The Bulldogs’ bench, which averaged 30.2 points per game coming into the SEC opener, put up 23 points while the Tigers managed just a 3-pointer from Jesus Carralero Martin.

Hill led the bench effort by knocking down 4 of 8 3-pointers to post 16 points with four assists. Noah Thomasson added 15 points and Demary had 10 points and six rebounds.

Sean East II hit 9 of 20 from the floor to lead Missouri with 19 points and he had six rebounds and eight assists. Tamar Bates finished with 15 points, Shaw contributed 14 and Noah Carter 13. The Tigers hit 28 of 63 from the floor (44.4%), including 6 of 19 (31.6%) from beyond the arc.

Georgia has its SEC home opener on Wednesday when the Bulldogs host Arkansas. Missouri plays at No. 6 Kentucky on Tuesday.


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