GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Sophie Cunningham scored 29 points, including seven in overtime, and Missouri advanced to the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time with a 70-68 victory over No. 13-ranked Kentucky on Friday.

Cunningham took a pass from Lauren Aldridge to score the go-ahead basket for a 65-63 lead with 55 seconds left in overtime. Aldridge added two free throws with 19.3 left. Rhyne Howard cut the margin to two with 15.7 to go with two free throws but Cunningham added another pair of her own at 11.5. Tatyana Wyatt cut the lead to one with a 3-point play with 8.3 remaining before Cunningham made 1 of 2 at the line. Howard’s 3-pointer at the buzzer went off the rim.

Howard also missed a short jumper at the end of regulation after Cunningham tied the game at 59 by making 1 of 2 free throws with 21.2 remaining.

Cunningham was 7-of-12 shooting with three 3-pointers and sank 12 of 14 free throws. Amber Smith added 12 points while Aldridge, who had the Tigers’ other four OT points, finished with eight. The Tigers survived 26 turnovers.

Howard scored 25 points but missed all six of her 3-point tries with the fourth-seeded Wildcats (24-7) failing to hit a 3-pointer on all 16 attempts. Taylor Murray added 14 points and Wyatt 11. Maci Morris, the team’s second-leading scorer behind Howard, finished with eight points on 2-of-12 shooting.

Missouri (23-9), which has won four straight, takes on top-seed and No.5-ranked Mississippi State on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Amber Smith scored 18 points, Hannah Schuchts added 16 and fifth-seeded Missouri cruised past 13th-seeded Florida on Thursday in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.

Sophie Cunningham added 13 points and Haley Troup 10 for the Tigers (22-9), who play four-seed and 13th-ranked Kentucky in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Funda Nakkasoglu led the Gators (8-23) with 14 points.

Schuchts and Cunningham had 3-pointers as Missouri closed the first half with a 12-2 run to take a 42-32 lead. The Tigers, who had 13 3-pointers, picked up four more in the third quarter and pushed the lead to 64-46. Troup had back-to-back 3-pointers in a 16-0 run to start the fourth quarter.

The Tigers shot 52.5 percent (31 of 59) and outrebounded the Gators 38-27 with Smith grabbing nine.

Florida shot 37 percent and was just 1 of 8 from distance in the second half.

— Associated Press —

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 —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball (21-9, 10-6) dominated en route to an 82-47 victory over Alabama (13-16, 5-11) on Sunday afternoon at Mizzou Arena for Senior Day. This year’s seniors – Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.),Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.) and Lauren Aldridge (Marshfield, Mo.) – were honored prior to tipoff, and led Mizzou to victory, as they combined to score 40 points in their final games at Mizzou Arena.

The Tigers began the game on fire, opening the game on a 10-0 run. Alabama battled back in the second quarter, but Mizzou once again pulled away in the second half. The 35-point victory is the largest of the season over an SEC opponent as four Tiger players scored in double digits for the third time this season. Cunningham, redshirt junior Hannah Schuchts (Tallahassee, Fla.), Porter and redshirt freshman Haley Troup (Gadsden, Ala.) scored 22, 12, 11 and 10 points respectively.

Mizzou shot prolifically from beyond the arc, as Cunningham was 5-for-9 and Schuchts was a perfect 4-for-4. Aldridge knocked in two herself and junior Jordan Roundtree (St. Louis, Mo.) added one as Mizzou sank 15 threes, its second-highest total of the season behind the 16 Mizzou drained against Duke on Nov. 25.

TURNING POINT

Mizzou stifled Alabama on both sides of the court in the first quarter, holding the Crimson Tide offense to just two field goals while stealing the ball four times. On offense, the Tigers shot the ball productively, scoring 21 points on 50 percent shooting from the field. Alabama narrowed the margin in the second quarter to nine, but the Tigers went on a 6-0 run in the last minute and didn’t look back for the rest of the game.

TOP TIGERS

• In her final game at Mizzou Arena, Cunningham shot 50 percent from the field (6-for-12), as she scored 22 points, dished out five assists and pulled in eight rebounds, all team highs.
• Porter, also in her final home game, scored 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field and snagged three steals while grabbing seven rebounds.
• Schuchts was a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc as she scored 12 points and blocked one shot.

NOTES

• With the win, Mizzou finishes the season 10-6 in SEC play, marking the third straight season with 10+ conference wins for the first time since 1983-85, which were the first three seasons of round-robin play in the Big Eight Conference.
• In the final game of the regular season, the Tigers faced off against Alabama for the first time this season. With an 82-47 victory, the Tigers advance the all-time series to 7-4.
• The Tigers launched a balanced offensive attack, with four separate players reaching double-digits. Cunningham, Porter, Schuchts and Troup all scored at least 10 points. This marks just the third time this season four players have reached double-digits.
• Mizzou’s 82-point performance is the second highest point total recorded by the Tigers this season, trailing only the 89 points scored against Western Illinois to start the season on Nov. 6.
• Mizzou has now won the last three senior nights, dating back to a 100-65 victory over Ole Miss (2/23/17).
• The Tigers held Alabama to 47 points in the game, marking the 25^th time in 30 games Mizzou has held its opponent to 65 points or less.
• In her final game at Mizzou Arena, Cunningham earned a standing ovation from the crowd as she left the court. She logged 22 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. This marks Cunningham’s 13^th 20-point game of the season and the 46^th of her career at Mizzou.
• With her 22 points, Cunningham has now logged at least 10 points in 12 straight games. She has now reached double digits in 24 of the 30 games this season.
• Aldridge recorded seven points in her final regular season game as a Tiger, as well as five assists. This marks just the second game this season Aldridge has reached five assists, the last coming against Texas A&M (2/7/19).
• The Tigers recorded 11 steals against the Crimson Tide, tying the team season high of 11 steals, accomplished against Texas State (12/17/18).
• Mizzou drained 15 three pointers as a team, falling just short of a season high. The team recorded 16 threes against Duke on Nov. 25.
• Mizzou shot 53.8 percent from the field (28-for-52), marking the 16^th time in the last 18 games Mizzou has shot better than 40 percent from the field. The Tigers move to 5-0 when shooting above 50 percent from the field.

UP NEXT

Next, Mizzou travels to Greenville, S.C. for the SEC Tournament. The Tigers will be the No. 5 seed for the tournament, and will play the winner of Ole Miss/Florida on Thursday, March 7. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network, and will begin 25 minutes after the conclusion of the day’s first game, which is slated to start at 11 a.m. CT.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The youth movement has helped sustain Missouri basketball all season. A trio of freshmen — Javon Pickett, Xavier Pinson and Torrence Watson — have given hope to Tigers fans in a year where postseason play is unlikely.

Watson was the star against South Carolina on Saturday. The freshman guard scored 20 points and showcased his range, hitting a pair of clutch 3s down the stretch to keep the Gamecocks at bay. Missouri proceeded to defeat South Carolina 78-63.

The Gamecocks cut the Tigers’ lead from 10 to four with 5:54 remaining. On the next possession, Watson drilled a 3-pointer. After another Gamecocks’ basket, Watson knocked down a triple to extend Missouri’s lead to eight with 4:34 left.

Missouri (13-15, 4-12 Southeastern Conference) held off South Carolina’s push from that point on. It was Watson’s second consecutive game as the team’s leading scorer. He finished 4 for 9 from beyond the arc.

“Tonight, I was just feeling it,” Watson said. “My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball. It makes a really big difference when you see shots go in.”

Hassani Gravett led South Carolina (14-15, 9-7) with 20 points. But the team’s leading scorer for the season, forward Chris Silva, was in foul trouble all game and fouled out with 1:44 remaining. He played just 15 minutes and scored 12 points.

“(Silva) creates a lot of activity on both sides of the ball,” Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said. “When he’s in foul trouble, that’s a different team.”

The Tigers took advantage of Silva’s limited time. Forward Kevin Puryear scored 18 points, including 8 for 9 from the free-throw line. Puryear is averaging 6.9 points per game and has not scored in double-digits in conference play this season.

“I’ve really been struggling in SEC play as far as putting the ball in the hole,” Puryear said. “To finally see the ball go through the rim like that is a good feeling.”

The Gamecocks also played without their second leading scorer, freshman A.J. Lawson, who suffered a low left ankle sprain in the second half of South Carolina’s game against Alabama on Tuesday.

“Like I tried to tell the team, life is not about trying to figure out what you don’t have, it’s figuring out what you do have, and make it work,” South Carolina coach Frank Martin said. “We’ve got two games left and we’ve got to make it work.”

BIG PICTURE

South Carolina: The Gamecocks faced an uphill climb to reach tournament play entering Saturday. A loss to Missouri may have killed their chances. South Carolina will likely have to win out in the regular season and put together a strong conference tournament showing to be considered for the tourney.

Missouri: The Tigers have played tough in recent home games, and this was another example. Missouri is not in the tournament picture, but play like today’s could help the Tigers reach the .500 mark by the end of the season.

FADING AWAY

In his postgame press conference, Frank Martin emphasized South Carolina’s fatigue in the second half, where it was outscored 49-38 and outrebounded 19-12.

“I was scared that we’d get tired, which happened,” he said. “We’re in a place where we’re very shorthanded, obviously, and have no depth.”

FRESH ON THE SCENE

Entering Saturday, 62.2 percent of Missouri’s scoring this season had come from freshmen and sophomores. Watson’s game-high 20 points marked the third time in the last five games a freshman led the Tigers in scoring.

UP NEXT

South Carolina will play visitor to Texas A&M on Tuesday.

Missouri plays its final road game on Wednesday against Georgia.

— Associated Press —

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Tyson Carter came to Mississippi State two years ago as a super-skinny shooter who coach Ben Howland hoped would grow — literally and figuratively — into a larger role on the team.

Gaining the pounds hasn’t come easy, but the points are starting to come in bunches.

Carter scored a season-high 22 points, Quinndary Weatherspoon added 20 and Mississippi State led the entire game in a 68-49 victory over Missouri on Tuesday night.

“Tyson had it going,” Howland said. “He really did a great job. Made big shots.”

Carter shot 7 of 12 from the field, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range. The 6-foot-4 junior’s production has come at a good time: He’s averaged 15 points over the past four games since starting guard Nick Weatherspoon was suspended for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

Carter’s gained about 20 pounds since coming to Starkville two years ago, though he grinned and said it “doesn’t look like it.” Even though he’ll never be a bruiser, he’s gained enough strength to find cracks in the defense and create space to make shots.

“It’s just playing harder, playing tougher,” Carter said. “Three years brings a lot of experience. You learn ways not to get pushed around as much.”

Mississippi State (21-7, 9-6 Southeastern Conference) has won five straight league games for the first time since 2008. Now the Bulldogs are essentially assured a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009 and Howland said the discussion has turned to improving their seed on Selection Sunday.

“I’m so excited for our players,” Howland said. “For me, it’s all about the players and their chance to experience and compete in the NCAA Tournament. I got to do it twice as a player and it’s the greatest experience you can have in college basketball.”

Weatherspoon, a senior, passed 1,900 points for his career and made 3 of 4 3-point attempts. Reggie Perry had 15 points and nine rebounds. Abdul Ado blocked five shots.

Missouri (12-15, 3-12) lost its fourth straight game. The Tigers were competitive in their previous three losses to Ole Miss, Kentucky and Florida and hung close in this one for much of the night, but they couldn’t overcome a tough night on offense.

Missouri’s 49 points were a season low. The Tigers shot just 33 percent from the field and had 15 turnovers. Torrence Watson led Missouri with 12 points. Jeremiah Tilmon added 11.

“We just couldn’t get baskets to go for us,” Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said. “They made enough to win the ballgame.”

Mississippi State dominated most of the first half, pulling out to a 27-12 lead with 6:46 remaining. Missouri rallied to cut the deficit to 33-26 by halftime, but could get no closer than five points during the second half.

SEVEN-MAN ROTATION

Because of Nick Weatherspoon’s suspension, Mississippi State’s regular playing rotation has been cut to seven players.

So far, it hasn’t been an issue. Howland credited his team’s endurance for the five-game winning streak.

Carter played 37 of 40 minutes. Quinndary Weatherspoon played 35. Lamar Peters and Perry played 34.

“Those seven guys who played tonight, they’re unbelievably well-conditioned right now,” Howland said.

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: The Tigers continue to compete, but fell apart in the second half of this one. Missouri has two of its final three regular season games at home.

Mississippi State: It wasn’t a pretty performance, but the Bulldogs controlled this one the entire night. Carter’s consistent scoring over the past two weeks has been a plus, Perry doesn’t look like a freshman anymore and Ado has added 11 blocked shots over the past two wins.

UP NEXT

Missouri: The Tigers host South Carolina on Saturday.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs travel to Auburn on Saturday.

— Associated Press —-

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Basketball legend John Brown will have his number officially retired during a halftime ceremony of Mizzou’s matchup with Ole Miss on Saturday, March 9, the Tigers’ season finale at Mizzou Arena. Brown’s No. 50 Mizzou jersey will be enshrined in the rafters and his impressive career as a Mizzou forward from 1971-73 will be honored.

“John Brown was one of the most-significant student-athletes of the Norm Stewart-era, and we look forward to honoring him for his outstanding achievements on the court next month,” said Mizzou Director of Athletics Jim Sterk. “He is most deserving of this honor, and we look forward to celebrating with his family and friends.”

Brown joins a strong contingence of Mizzou Basketball legends that have had their numbers retired, including Derrick Chievous (No. 3) who had his number retired on Feb. 19. Brown joins Chievous, Jon Sundvold (No. 20), Norm Stewart (No. 22), Willie Smith (No. 30), Doug Smith (No. 34), Steve Stipanovich (No. 40) and Bill Stauffer (No. 43) in this select circle of Tiger greats.

Brown recorded 37 career double-doubles during his three seasons as a Tiger, a mark that still ranks fourth all-time. The 6-foot-7 forward totaled 17 double-doubles during the 71-72 season and led the Tigers to a 21-6 record and a 10-4 mark in the Big Eight. He averaged 21.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game that season, posting the third-highest total for a Mizzou junior in both categories.

A 1973 All-American, Brown again led the Tigers in scoring (21.0) and rebounding (10.0) during the 72-73 season while also posting one of four 20-point and 20-rebound games in Mizzou history at Kansas on February 27, 1973, hauling in 21 boards and scoring 21 points, in the 13th-ranked Tigers’ 79-63 win. Less than a week later, Brown scored a career-high 41 points against Oklahoma State on March 3, 1973. His 41 points are the ninth-highest total in a single game in Mizzou Basketball history. Brown scored more than 30 points on eight different occasions during his Mizzou career.

The Mizzou forward finished his career with 1,421 points and 720 rebounds through 72 games over three seasons. His 19.7 points per game scoring average goes down as the highest total for a Mizzou player through three seasons. Brown, who was named first-team All-Big Eight after his junior and senior seasons, sits at fourth in all-time rebounding average, hauling in 10.0 rebounds from 1971-1973.

Brown was chosen as an alternate for the U.S. Olympic team for the 1972 Olympics and was later drafted with the 10th pick of the 1973 draft by the Atlanta Hawks and was named to the NBA All-Rookie team after averaging 9.3 points and 5.7 rebounds during the 73-74 season.

The March 9 game that will feature Brown’s halftime ceremony will tip off at 2:30 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

AUBURN, Ala. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball (19-9, 8-6 SEC) dropped a tough SEC road contest on Sunday, as Auburn (20-7, 8-6 SEC) won 58-54 at Auburn Arena. It was Mizzou’s second consecutive contest decided by less than five points.

Senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) led the way for Mizzou by scoring with 19 points on 7-for-15 shooting from the field, while junior guard Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

With nine points, redshirt senior guard Lauren Aldridge (Marhsfield, Mo.) notched her 1,000 career point in the game.

TURNING POINT

Mizzou outscored Auburn, 23-12 in the third period to take a seven-point lead heading into the final quarter, but Auburn responded in the fourth by outscoring Mizzou 20-9 to edge the Tigers, 58-54. Junior guard Jordan Chavis (Lexington, N.C.) drained a three-pointer from the top of the arc to cut Auburn’s lead to 54-52 with 24 seconds remaining, but Auburn was able to convert on 4-of-6 shots from the free throw line in the game’s final 30 seconds.

TOP TIGERS

• Cunningham scored 19 points in the game on 7-for-15 shooting from the field while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out two assists.
• With 10 points and 11 rebounds, Smith recorded her eighth double-double of the season. Smith shot 5-for-11 from the field and dished out a team-high three assists.
• Aldridge scored nine points, dished out a team-high three assists and matched a career-high with five rebounds.

NOTES

• Aldridge recorded her 1,000 career point in the game with a third quarter three. Aldridge scored 603 points with Kansas between the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons before transferring to Mizzou where she has scored 398 points over the past two seasons.
• Cunningham continued her recent scoring surge, as she has now scored in double figures in 10 consecutive contests and is averaging 21.3 points over that stretch.
• After recording just two double-doubles in her freshman and sophomore seasons combined, Smith has now recorded eight double-doubles on the season.
• Mizzou continued its staunch defense in the game, as Mizzou held Auburn to 58 points, marking the 24^th time in 28 games Mizzou has held its opponent to 65 points or less.
• Mizzou shot 43.8 percent (21-for-48) from the field in the game, marking the 14^th time in the last 16 games the Tigers have shot at least 40 percent from the field.

UP NEXT

Next, Mizzou continues its two game road trip with a Thursday, Feb. 28, matchup at Arkansas. Tipoff from Fayetteville is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network.

— Mizzou Athletics —

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Kevarrius Hayes had seen enough two weeks ago. Too many close losses. Too many silly mistakes. Too little effort too often.

So Hayes called a players-only meeting.

Florida hasn’t been the same since.

KeVaughn Allen scored 17 points, Keyontae Johnson added 13 and the Gators overcame a 12-point deficit in the second half to upend Missouri 64-60 on Saturday.

Florida (16-11, 8-6 Southeastern Conference) won its fourth consecutive game — the team’s longest streak of the season — and continued to strengthen its NCAA Tournament resume down the stretch.

Allen and fellow senior Jalen Hudson have been catalysts.

“It’s the bottom of the ninth for those guys,” coach Mike White said.

Coming off consecutive road wins at Alabama and No. 13 LSU, Florida looked nothing like the same team in the first half against Mizzou (12-14, 3-11). The Gators shot 30 percent in the opening 20 minutes, had just two assists and trailed by nine.

They found themselves in an even bigger hole when Jordan Geist hit a 3-pointer that made it 40-28 early in the second half.

But Florida started driving to the basket and getting to the free-throw line. The Gators made 25 of 30 from the stripe for the game, including 16 of 19 in the second half.

Allen hit 9 of 10, including two with 5.5 seconds remaining that essentially sealed the victory.

Hudson added 11 points off the bench for the Gators. It was fourth time in the last five games that Hudson reached double figures, a positive step forward after a rough start to his season.

“Just trying to give it everything I got. That’s my motive now,” Hudson said. “It’s just coming to an end and I want to give everything I got. I don’t want to have any regrets. That’s just kind of how I’ve been playing — leave it all out there every game.”

Geist scored 16 points to pace the Tigers (12-14, 3-11), who have now lost four SEC games after leading by 10 or more points. Javon Pickett added 15.

Mizzou missed several chances in the final minute-plus. Reed Nikko missed an and-one free throw that would have tied the game at 61 with 1:17 to play, Torrence Watson missed in the paint and Pickett missed a wide-open 3 with 8 seconds left in a two-point game.

“Everybody was telling me it was a good shot,” Pickett said. “I’ve just got to knock it down. That’s on me.”

Xavier Pinson and Jeremiah Tilmon both fouled out down the stretch, leaving Mizzou with two bench players on the floor.

“It definitely takes away from what we’re trying to do,” Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said.

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: The Tigers fell to 0-4 in Gainesville and have lost six of seven on the road in SEC play, not really that surprising considering they’ve played all season without highly talented forward Jontay Porter.

Florida: The Gators continues to build a case for making the NCAA Tournament, which looked like a pipe dream a month ago. Hudson has been a big reason for the late-season surge.

SILVER ANNIVERSARY

Florida recognized its 1993-94 team at halftime. Those Gators became the first in program history to reach the Final Four and gave the football-first school a taste of basketball success. Lon Kruger was the coach, and Craig Brown, Dan Cross, Andrew DeClercq and Dametri Hill were the stars.

SHOELESS STINT

Florida forward Isaiah Stokes played about three minutes in the second half without his right shoe. He even altered a shot during the stretch.

“Just keep playing and just try not to have anybody step on your foot,” Stokes said.

UP NEXT

Missouri: Will try to avoid its first four-game losing streak of the season Tuesday at Mississippi State.

Florida: Plays at Vanderbilt on Wednesday, another must-win game for the Gators and their NCAA Tournament hopes.

— Associated Press —