Missouri holds off No. 22 Florida 76-74 in SEC opener

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Anthony Robinson II had 19 points and eight rebounds as Missouri held off No. 22 Florida 76-74 on Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

Mark Mitchell added 14 points, Jacob Crews had 13 and Trent Pierce scored 10 off the bench in his first game this season for the Tigers (11-3, 1-0). Jayden Stone scored Missouri's first eight points and finished with nine after missing the previous seven games with a hand injury.

Thomas Haugh had 24 points and seven rebounds for the Gators (9-5, 0-1). Alex Condon added 14 points, six assists and five boards.

Pierce made a layup that put the Tigers ahead for good, 66-65, with 2:45 remaining, and his 3-pointer extended the lead to four 40 seconds later.

Robinson banked in a 3 to give the Tigers a 74-69 advantage with 21 seconds left, and they still led by five with under 10 seconds to play. But then Haugh converted a three-point play and Mitchell missed two free throws at the other end with 4.3 seconds remaining. That gave the Gators one last chance, but Boogie Fland missed a long 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

The Tigers have won two straight regular-season games against Florida after beating the 2025 national champions 83-82 on Jan. 4 last year in Gainesville.

Haugh hit a 3 with 3:37 remaining to cap an 11-0 run that pushed Florida ahead 65-64 for its only lead of the second half.

Both teams grabbed 37 rebounds after Florida entered leading the nation in rebounding margin at plus-17.2.

Missouri shot 45.4% from the field, becoming the second team to shoot better than 45% against the Gators this season.

The Tigers opened the second half on a 6-0 run after 7-foot-5 redshirt freshman Trent Burns made his first career 3 for Missouri as time expired in the first half to tie the game at 39.

Up next

Florida hosts No. 23 Georgia on Wednesday night.

Missouri visits Kentucky on Wednesday night.

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