Williams' 15 lead Missouri State past Florida International 75-72 in Conference USA Tournament

Published Mar. 10, 2026 10:27 p.m. ET

Associated Press

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Kobi Williams had 15 points in Missouri State's 75-72 victory against Florida International on Tuesday night in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament.

Corey Stephenson missed a 3-pointer for FIU to end it.

The ninth-seeded Bears (15-17) will move on to face top-seeded Liberty in a Wednesday quarterfinal.

Williams went 6 of 11 from the field (3 for 7 from 3-point range) for the Bears. Keith Palek III scored 13 points and added eight assists. Trey Williams Jr. finished with 13 points.

Stephenson led the No. 8 seed Panthers (15-17) with 24 points and 10 rebounds. FIU also got 19 points from Zawdie Jackson. Larry Olayinka finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals.

Williams scored seven points in the first half and Missouri State went into halftime trailing 36-31.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.