ATHENS (AP) — J.J. Frazier scored 16 points to lead Georgia's strong 3-point attack and the Bulldogs beat Missouri 77-59 on Wednesday night for their first Southeastern Conference win.
Frazier made four of six 3-pointers. Yante Maten had 15 points and Charles Mann added 14 for Georgia (8-4, 1-1 SEC), which made 11 of 19 3-pointers.
Georgia scored the first 10 points and never trailed. It led 45-32 at halftime and kept the lead around 20 points for most of the second half.
Freshman Kevin Puryear led Missouri (7-7, 0-1 SEC) with 19 points. Wes Clark had 13 and no other Tigers scored in double figures.
The Tigers had a mini-rally with seven straight points midway through the second half to trim Georgia's lead to 57-42. Mann hit a 3-pointer, followed by a basket by freshman Derek Ogbeide, to push the lead back to 20 points.
Maten has scored at least 20 points in six of nine games during his breakout season. He averaged 5.0 points per game as a freshman and has emerged as the Bulldogs' leading scorer, with an average of 16.6 points entering the game.
Maten scored 11 of Georgia's first 17 points. Puryear helped slow Maten's scoring but Georgia had outside options, including the 3-point shooting of Frazier, Mann and Kenny Gaines, who had 11 points.
While Georgia enjoyed strong outside shooting, the Tigers made only 3 of 19 3-pointers. Namon Wright had nine points but missed each of his four 3s.
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TIP-INS
Missouri: The Tigers fell to 0-3 on the road. ... Missouri couldn't continue momentum gained from back-to-back wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Savannah State by a combined margin of 84 points. ... Clark, coming off a career-high 22 points against Savannah State, scored in double figures for the fourth straight game.
Georgia: Kenny Paul Geno ended a 0-for-14 drought on 3-pointers, covering seven games, in the second half. ... The Bulldogs won their fourth straight over Missouri. ... Georgia evened its SEC record after opening its conference schedule with a 77-63 loss at Florida last Saturday.
UP NEXT:
Missouri: Hosts Auburn on Saturday.
Georgia: At Mississippi on Saturday
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/1/360727/frazier-has-16-points-as-georgia-overwhelms-missouri-77-59