St. Joseph Post
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP)- Dru Smith scored the game-winner, banking a baseline drive reverse layup off the glass with 0.7 seconds on the clock and Missouri held on to defeat Florida 72-70 for the Tigers’ first-ever win in Gainesville.
Florida had made up a 10-point gap by fighting through the entirety of the second half to close on an 8-0 run and tie at 70-70 with 18 seconds left.
Dru Smith scored 17 points and had nine assists and a season-high six steals to lead Missouri, Mitchell Smith scored 14 and Mark Smith 11. Xavier Pinson scored 14, making four 3-pointers, and Jeremiah Tilmon added 12 points.
Tre Mann scored 21 points to lead Florida, Tyree Appleby added 12 with five assists and Noah Locke scored 11.
Mizzou wraps up the regular season on Saturday when they host LSU at 2 p.m.
Kansas State
Esmery Martinez scored 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds to help No. 20 West Virginia beat Kansas State 72-64. Kysre Gondrezick added 14 points, Kirsten Deans and 13 points and nine assists, and Jasmine Carson scored 11 points for West Virginia (19-4, 13-4 Big 12).
Ayoka Lee, a 6-foot-6 sophomore center, scored 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds for Kansas State, which led for just 30 seconds. The rest of the Wildcats made just 14 of 45 (31%) from the field.
The Mountaineers play No. 6 and Big 12-leading Baylor on Monday with a chance to lock up the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, which begins March 11.
K-State concludes the regular season Saturday at home against Iowa State at 4 p.m.