ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Missouri finally generated momentum in the Southeastern Conference with back-to-back wins near the end of its mostly disappointing season.

Georgia’s search for its first back-to-back SEC wins ended with an ugly loss described by its top scorer as a dud.

Jordan Geist scored 18 points and Torrence Watson had 17 to lead Missouri to a 64-39 win over Georgia on Wednesday night in a matchup of two of the SEC’s bottom three teams.

“It was one of those things I said to our guys it’s never too late,” said Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin after the Tigers (14-15, 5-12 Southeastern Conference) won their second straight game.

Watson made each of his five 3-pointers in the second half. Neither team made a 3 in a low-scoring first half.

Nicolas Claxon had nine points and 10 rebounds to lead Georgia, which was held to its fewest points in 15 years. It was a disappointing game for first-year coach Tom Crean in Georgia’s final home game of the season.

Georgia’s second-leading scorer and rebounder, Rayshaun Hammonds, was held out with an injured right foot. Crean said he doesn’t expect Hammonds to return this season.

The Bulldogs missed Hammonds. Missouri took a lopsided 50-28 advantage in rebounds.

“Tonight was a dud, offense, defense and rebounding, all across the board,” Claxton said.

Missouri and Georgia (11-19, 2-15) lead only Vanderbilt in the SEC standings.

Missouri ranks last in the conference with its average of 67 points per game, while Georgia is last in defense, allowing an average of 74.6 points.

The teams played up to their dismal rankings, especially in a low-scoring first half when the Tigers and Bulldogs were a combined 0 for 22 on 3-point attempts.

“We both set basketball back to start the game,” Crean said.

The drought on long-range shots stretched to 28 misses — 14 straight for each team — before Watson finally sank a 3 almost five minutes into the second half.

Without Hammonds, Missouri didn’t have to respect Georgia’s inside game. Jeremiah Tilmon had eight points and eight rebounds. Mitchell Smith had 11 rebounds.

Martin said Tilmon “had one of his better games, playing without fouling, being aggressive, posting and reading the defense.”

Each team was coming off a rare win.

Georgia snapped losing streaks of nine straight games overall and 13 straight SEC games by beating Florida 61-55 on Saturday. Missouri had lost four straight before beating South Carolina 78-63 on Saturday.

Missouri led 38-16 midway through the second half when JoJo Toppin sank a 3-pointer as Georgia snapped its 0-for-15 start on 3s.

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: Geist had little help in the first half, when he led the Tigers with 12 points and no other scorer had more than four. Missouri enjoyed more scoring balance after halftime, especially on 3-pointers. The Tigers had 17 assists, including six by Geist.

Georgia: The Bulldogs’ previous scoring low this season was 49 points in losses to Top 25 teams, then-No. 16 Clemson and Kentucky. .. Georgia’s six seniors were recognized before their final home game. … The Bulldogs made only 13 of 51 shots (25.5 percent) and 3 of 20 3-pointers.

HAMMONDS STILL HURTING

Hammonds wore a warm-up suit as he sat on the bench. He was held out for the second time in the last three games. He also missed Georgia’s loss to Auburn on Feb. 27 before playing five minutes in Saturday’s win at Florida. Crean did not say if Hammonds aggravated the injury against Florida. The sophomore forward averages 12.1 points and 6.1 rebounds.

OFFENSE MISSING

Georgia had not been held below 40 points since a 61-39 loss to Vanderbilt in 2004. The Bulldogs also set season lows with 14 first-half points, five assists and 25.5 percent shooting from the field.

UP NEXT

Missouri: Closes its regular season on Saturday at home against Mississippi.

Georgia: Plays at South Carolina on Saturday in its final regular-season game.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball had three players earn All-SEC recognition, announced Tuesday by the Southeastern Conference. Senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) was named to the All-SEC First Team for third consecutive season, senior forward Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.) was named the Sixth Woman of the Year, and Akira Levy (Baxter, Tenn.) was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team.

In addition, Cunningham was named to the All-SEC First Team by the Associated Press for the second straight season.

With her third All-SEC First Team honor, Cunningham is the first player in program history to earn All-Conference First Team honors in three consecutive seasons. The SEC’s active career scoring leader with 2,082 points, Cunningham is currently averaging 17.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Her 72 three-pointers rank fifth in a single season in program history.

Cunningham currently ranks fourth in the SEC in scoring (17.3 ppg), third in three-point percentage (40.7), third in three-pointers per game (2.3) and third in free throw percentage (81.8). In conference play, she leads the SEC in three-point shooting 46.5 percent) and threes per game (2.9). Cunningham has reached 20 points in 13 games this season, including eight times during SEC play, and 30 points twice. Mizzou is 12-1 when she scores 20+, and 2-0 when she reaches 30 points.

The Tiger senior is one of three Mizzou players to score 2,000 career points. Among program records, Cunningham ranks first in free throws made (503), third in three-point percentage (40.5), third in scoring (2,082), third in three-pointers made (225), third in free throw percentage (83.4), fourth in points per game (16.8) and fourth in assists (378).

Porter becomes the second player in Mizzou history to be named SEC Sixth Woman of the Year, and the first since Morgan Eye earned the honor in 2013. After originally medically retiring due to nagging knee injuries in June, Porter returned to the court in late December, when she came off the bench in her first seven contests. She is currently averaging 7.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting a career-best 86.7 percent from the free throw line (39-for-45).

In her season debut against Arkansas State (Dec. 30), Porter became the 36th member of Mizzou’s 1,000-point club as she scored four points in 11 minutes. Porter has scored in double figures in five contests this season, all coming during the last nine games. Against Arkansas (Feb. 28), Porter tallied her eighth career 20-point game with a season-high 21 points while shooting a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line in the game, which matched her career-best performance from the charity stripe.

Porter’s stout 86.7 percent clip from the line currently ranks as the fourth-best mark in a single season in Mizzou history, while her career free throw percentage of 80.0 percent ranks fifth all-time. She also ranks ninth in career rebounds with 749 rebounds and 10th in career blocks with 109.

After starting the first four games of her career, Levy provided a spark off the bench with 4.8 points and 2.1 assists per game before her season was cut short due to a season-ending knee injury. She is the third Tiger to make the All-SEC Freshman team in the last four seasons, joining teammates Cunningham in 2016 and junior guard Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) in 2017.

Among SEC freshman, Levy tallied the fourth-most assists with 58 and the seventh-most steals with 24. She scored in double figures in five games, and recorded three or more assists in 11 contests.

— Mizzou Athletics —