COLUMBIA, Mo. _ Turnovers have ailed Missouri all season. Even on a day when the Tigers only gave the ball away 11 times.
The Tigers were tied against the Florida Gators with 17 seconds left, coming out of a timeout near the end of what had been an impressive performance. Already dealing with the loss of Michael Porter Jr., Mizzou proved it could withstand the loss of point guard Blake Harris, who transferred from the team the day before.
Harris' replacement in the starting lineup, Jordan Geist, prepared to throw the ball to guard Kassius Robertson at the top of the key. Robertson was going to take the last shot.
Instead, he didn't even get his hands on the ball.
Guard Chris Chiozza jumped in front of the pass and scored a fast-break layup, sealing a 77-75 Florida win Saturday at Mizzou Arena.
The Gators mobbed Chiozza. The excitement Missouri felt for the previous 39 minutes faded.
This would have been Mizzou's most impressive win of the season. Jeremiah Tilmon, Mizzou's freshman center, played just 8 minutes before fouling out. Without Harris, the Tigers (11-4, 1-1 SEC) had to rely more than ever on bench players Terrence Phillips and Cullen VanLeer, who combined to play 23 minutes and score just five points.
All of that was fine for most of the game because of Jordan Barnett. The Tigers' senior forward had hit 29 of his last 59 3s coming into Saturday. He scored 28 points on Saturday on 8 of 13 shooting. He made six 3-pointers.
Barnett's most impressive 3-pointer came midway through the second half, when he tossed a shot up from about four feet behind the arc that put Mizzou up 57-51. The basket capped a 12-4 Missouri run.
Led by guard Chiozza, who scored all 13 of his points in the second half, the Gators (11-4, 3-0) never went away. With about 5 minutes remaining, Chiozza drove to the basket and drew Tilmon's fifth personal foul. Chiozza hit two free throws, pulling the Gators within four.
Thin after losing Harris, the Tigers also had tight rotations in the front court. Freshman Jontay Porter, who had seven rebounds and a team-high six assists, picked up his fourth foul with more than 10 minutes remaining, but he played the rest of the way.
Florida's leading scorer, Jalen Hudson, scored 16 points in this game and five consecutive _ on a layup and three free throws, missing one _ that tied the score 75-75 with 17 seconds remaining. That set up Missouri's final possession, which ended up as Florida's game-winning basket.
The Tigers had jumped out to an early lead in this game against a Gators squad that was preseason No. 8 in the country, picked to finish second in the Southeastern Conference.
Three of Missouri's first five field goals were 3-pointers, all by Barnett, who had outscored the Gators by himself through the first 9{ minutes.
After Barnett's third 3 _ which, like his other two first-half makes from deep, came off a Jontay Porter assist out of the post _ Phillips stole an inbounds pass, put Missouri up 19-12 and forced a Florida timeout.
Mizzou, which shot 46.2 percent form the field and converted 6 of 9 3-point attempts in the first half, grew its lead to 24-12 before the Gators staged a comeback.
Florida went on an 11-4 run over just more than four minutes, cutting Missouri's lead to three. Then the Gators went on a 10-0 run and took their first lead with a jumper by Keith Stone. Egor Koulechov, who led Florida with 11 first-half points, had tied the game at 32-32 the possession before with a 3-pointer.
The Gators took a 36-35 lead into halftime.
