Three-point play in final seconds gives No. 21 Georgia a wild win at Missouri

Marcus “Smurf” Millender came up big in the final seconds for Georgia, leaving Missouri fans feeling blue on Tuesday night.

The No. 21-ranked Bulldogs (16-3, 4-2) pulled out a 74-72 win at Mizzou Arena on the strength of Millender’s drive to the basket and ensuing free throw with 5.5 seconds left at Missouri (13-6, 3-3).

Missouri’s Jacob Crews had hit a 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 72-71 lead with 18 seconds left and send the home crowd into hysterics.

The Tigers were 11-0 at home this season entering the Tuesday night game with UGA.

Georgia coach Mike White called a timeout with nine seconds left to set up a final play, and then Missouri called a timeout just before UGA inbounded, leading to another break in the action as the tension mounted.

Millender inbounded the ball to Somto Cyril and then raced in from the end court, following his pass and using Cyril as a screen as Cyril flipped the ball back to him.

The 5-foot-11 Millender drove to the rim against Missouri 7-foot center Shawn Phillips Jr., drawing a foul on his made basket and proceeded to hit a free throw that made it 74-72 score.

It was the 10th and final lead change in the game.

The Tigers, out of timeouts, hustled the ball up court for Crews to get off a long, contested 3-point attempt that missed, sealing the win for the Bulldogs.

“That last play was dictated by the defense Missouri threw at us, and we tried to put Smurf in space, whether he shoots that ball or gets someone else the ball, we were going to live with it,” White said.

“Then we got a good stop… We did a good job contesting it without fouling. It was a clean defensive possession to win the game.”

Millender led UGA with 18 points, while Jeremiah Wilkinson poured in 14, Kanon Catchings scored 12 and Cyril finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.

Blue Cain led the Bulldogs with 10 rebounds along with eight points.

Georgia led by as many as 10 points in the first half before taking a 29-26 lead into intermission.

The Bulldogs were on a 13-0 run and leading 20-10 when Cyril was called for a flagrant one foul for unnecessary contact that led to two Missouri free throws that triggered a 10-0 Tigers run.

Catchings hit a pair of jump shots to put Georgia back in front, 24-20, and then a Millender 3-pointer made it 27-20 to put the Bulldogs in control heading to the half.

“It’s big, these things can be contagious, if you get off to a good start with your road opportunities ... ,” White said. “You can at times gain some confidence, some momentum, some understanding of what it takes to win on the road in this league.”