Mizzou exits SEC Tournament in opening round

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (KMIZ)

Despite holding the lead with under three minutes left, Mizzou Men's Basketball fell to Georgia 64-59 in the first round of the SEC Tournament. The Tigers end their 2023-24 season without a win against an SEC opponent and an overall 8-24 record.

Dennis Gates' crew trailed by one point at the break but started the second half on a 13-4 scoring run to take an eight-point lead. Mizzou did not surrender the lead until the 1:43-mark of the second half when Georgia's Justin Hill hit a three-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 60-59 advantage. The Tigers were unable to retake the lead from there, allowing Georgia to end the game on a 12-0 scoring run.

Four different Tigers scored in double figures. Nick Honor led the way for Mizzou with 14 points, followed by Noah Carter and Tamar Bates with 11 points each. Sean East's streak of 20-point performances was snapped at seven straight games. He only scored nine points after only hitting 25% of his shots. He did grab eight rebounds and record five assists.

As a team, Mizzou shot 21 three-pointers and only made four of them. On the other hand, Georgia made 41% of their three-point attempts.

Mizzou enters the offseason on a program-worst 19-game losing skid.