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The Florida men’s basketball team rallies in the second half at Missouri and defeats the Tigers 66-65 in a game that was moved from 9pm to 3pm because of bad weather in the Missouri area.
Gators Men’s Basketball 14-8 (4-5 SEC)
Florida entered the match up coming off a gritty win over Oklahoma State as they fought their way back from a 16 point defect to defeat the Cowboys 81-72.
The Gators got off to a hot start against Missouri as they were lights out from behind the arc to start the match up as guard Myreon Jones had 15 points hitting five 3 pointers as Florida ended the first half leading 33-31.
Second Half Fight
Missouri opened up the second half taking the lead over Florida as both teams traded back and forth lead changes. But it was another comeback by Florida that got the Gators this win. The Gators were down by as many as nine points in the second half but they hung around as the end of the game saw the lead change until the very end of the match up.
Florida by two with 7.9 seconds left in the game but then guard Tyree Appleby hit two pressure free throws to give the Gators the lead. Missouri has two last chances to get a basket but they could not and the Gators held on for the road win. Appleby had 17 points for the game including a perfect 10 of 10 from the free throw line. The Gators were money from the stripe, hitting 22 of 26 attempts.
Gator coach Mike White on his teams mental toughness.
Florida guard Tyree Appleby discusses his second half performance.
The Gators also had three other players land in double-figures in the game; Myreon Jones led the way with 18 points, while Anthony Duruji had 14 and Phlandrous Fleming JR. adding 12.
Duruji also went over the 1,000-point mark in his college career.
Head Coach Mike White on his teams performance :
Missouri Basketball 8-13 (2-6 SEC)
The Tigers fall to 2-6 in SEC play with the loss. Ronnie DeGray III led the way for the Tigers with 13 points but it was not enough to overcome Florida.
Up Next
The Gators return home to the O’Connell Center as they host Ole Miss. Florida plays the Rebels for the second time this season; the Gators lost to the Rebels on the road January 24th 70-54.
