Mizzou basketball stuns UCF on DeAndre Gholston's buzzer beater. Here's what to know
Missouri men’s basketball needed to bounce back after the Kansas loss. In Saturday’s game against Central Florida in the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Fla., they did just that.
The Tigers beat UCF 68-66 to move to 10-1 on the season. They’ll face Illinois on Thursday in St. Louis for the annual Braggin’ Rights game.
Before that, here are three things to know about the UCF win.
The shot
DeAndre Gholston believed in it. With time ticking down to zero, the Missouri guard was crossing the midcourt logo, as D’Moi Hodge fell to the ground.
Hodge managed to roll the ball over to Gholston, who had no choice but to take a 35-footer as the buzzer sounded with the Tigers down a single point. Gholston didn’t hesitate, jacking up the prayer just in time to count.
"I trusted D’Moi, D’Moi got a big-time rebound and he made a big-time push as well,” Gholston said after the game. “I saw the UCF guys try and go double him and get the ball from him and he made a big play. He was falling and got to me somehow, I trusted him. Picked it up and I just believed in the shot.”
The shot hit the backboard, then bounced in to give Missouri the 68-66 win. The win moved the Tigers to 10-1 on the season and provided a needed rebound from a blowout loss to Kansas last week.
It capped off a 16-point effort for Gholston, who was out of the starting lineup for the first time this season. The shot also showed Missouri’s gumption when faced with a scenario where they had held a 14-point lead in the second half, but had squandered it and fell behind late.
“What I’m proud of is how our guys responded in adversity, in an adverse situation,” head coach Dennis Gates said. “It shows character. It shows who you are. It’s easy when things are going well to pat your chest, but who are you going to be when things don’t go your way?”
Lineup changes
All season, Gholston had been in the starting lineup, along with forward Noah Carter. On Saturday, those two were replaced in favor of Tre Gomillion and Ronnie DeGray III.
The moves stemmed from Missouri’s lack of success in the Kansas loss causing Gates to change things up.
“I told the guys I’m changing the starting lineup,” Gates said. “Minutes are up for grabs and whoever earns them earns them.”
Gates said telling Carter and Gholston wasn’t easy, but they both took the news well and continued to help the team wherever they could. Early on, it seemed the moves might have backfired.
By the first timeout, Missouri was down 10-0 to the Knights and was having serious issues on both offense and defense.
“At that point in my mind, you say to yourself ‘Damn, should I have changed the starting lineup?” Gates said. “But you kind of got through the ups and downs of what you need to go through and you settle in.”
Missouri came back quickly, getting contributions from DeGray, as well as Nick Honor. Saturday’s game also marked Isiaih Mosley’s return to the court.
He didn’t score any points but did led the team with four assists.
“He did some great, great things offensively,” Gates said of Mosley. “The ball just didn’t go in for him. But I love the momentum that our guys played with and collectively, I thought we did a great job.”
Carter and Gholston, despite losing their spots in the lineup, also performed well. Beyond Gholston’s 16 points, Carter chipped in six, along with three rebounds.
Gholston said he was inspired to play better by the benching.
“I can be honest about it, it motivated me a lot more,” Gholston said. “It’s hard to change when you get used to something a long time, the last few years I’ve always started.
“...My teammates kept me in it, staying positive. I cheered them on. My time, it came. My number was called and it worked out.”
Honor's moment
Nick Honor wanted to go to UCF out of high school. The Missouri guard grew up 10 minutes from campus and thought he would be a good fit for the Knights.
However, they didn’t recruit him. He ended up at Fordham, then Clemson, then transferred to MU this offseason to play for Gates.
Honor led the Tigers with 17 points on Saturday, which included five three-pointers.
“It felt good,” Honor said after the game. “I always had to tell myself, it’s just basketball at the end of the day, but it was good being back here. I’m glad we could escape that cold Mizzou weather for a little bit.”
Honor seemed slightly hesitant to make a big deal out of how much the performance meant to him. His coach wasn’t.
“Nick had this game circled since he saw it on the schedule this summer,” Gates said. “...To his credit, he didn’t get outside his character. He took what the defense gave him and he was prepared to knock down shots and his teammates found him.”
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Mizzou basketball: DeAndre Gholston hits clutch shot to beat UCF
