WATCH: Missouri, Georgia Coaches Involved in Halftime Altercation

Mark Fox

Georgia head coach Mark Fox played the role of peacemaker Saturday afternoon (Getty)

Saturday’s college basketball matchup between Missouri and Georgia wasn’t on the radar for many, with the Tigers struggling under third-year head coach Kim Anderson and the Bulldogs looking to rebound from a home loss to South Carolina earlier in the week. The two teams wound up receiving the kind of attention that no program wants, thanks to a halftime altercation that included multiple assistant coaches.

The spat began when Missouri’s Jordan Geist attempted to grab the ball from Georgia’s Yante Maten as the halftime buzzer sounded. Words were exchanged as Geist was bumped from behind by another Georgia player, and with both teams needing to get to their respective locker rooms there were already multiple people who had left the bench area.

The officials did their best to separate the teams…until two coaches got into it. Missouri special assistant to the head coach Steve Shields and Georgia director of basketball operations Kent Davidson got into a shoving match that threatened to get things restarted. Ultimately cooler heads prevailed, with head coaches Anderson and Mark Fox helping the officials get everyone separated and even sharing a hug before heading to their respective locker rooms.

Shields and Davison were assessed unsporting technical fouls for their actions, and Georgia would erase a six-point halftime deficit to beat Missouri 71-66.