DeAndre Gholston has hit a few game-winners in his career. But the one he drilled on Saturday might’ve been his favorite.

The Mizzou graduate senior guard connected on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer inside FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Fla., to lift the Tigers to a 68-66 victory over UCF.

“I just believed in the shot,” Gholston said. “My entire team did, they believed in me all night, and Coach Gates as well. And it worked out for us.”

Missouri got off to a slow start in the first half, letting the Golden Knights get off to a 10-0 lead. But the Tigers flipped the momentum by adjusting their defense, shading some of UCF’s hot shooters and holding the team to 1-10 shooting from the field to start the second half.

The team pulled it back within one by halftime, then took the largest lead of the game at 51-37 with 13:42 remaining in the second half. Graduate senior point guard Nick Honor said it was something Mizzou had worked on in the week leading up to the game.

“We tried different things,” Honor said. “We started the second half kind of, I guess you could say beating them when their own defensive technique. We kind of packed it in a little bit and kind of made them make their own mistakes. And (head coach Dennis) Gates just felt like it was necessary. And then throughout the week, just working on switching up defenses when we're pressing, soft or full-out trapping. So it all depends on what the game was calling for at the time.”

The Golden Knights (8-3) slowly worked their way back into it, though. Missouri called its last timeout with 1:29 left in the game, the Tigers leading 65-63. Honor missed a 3-pointer, collected by UCF freshman forward Taylor Hendricks, who would knock down a trey on the other end to put the Golden Knights in front, 66-65, with 54 seconds remaining.

Gholston was called for an offensive foul on the next possession, but Mizzou forced a miss on the other end. Graduate senior guard D’Moi Hodge came up with the defensive rebound with just over six seconds remaining and no way to stop the clock. Hodge zoomed across the halfcourt line, dribbling to his right, but tripped over a defender and fell to the floor.

Hodge managed to scoot the ball to Gholston, who was standing inside the AutoNation Orange Bowl Basketball Classic logo at midcourt. Gholston picked the ball up with a little more than a second to spare and heaved it toward the goal. The shot banked off the glass and fell through the hoop as the buzzer sounded, giving the Tigers the 68-66 win.

“I trusted D'Moi,” Gholston said. “D'Moi got a big-time rebound and he made a big-time push as well. And I saw UCF guys trying to go double him and get the ball from him. And he made a big play, he was falling, he got the ball to me somehow. I trusted him.”

It was no surprise to Gates — he’d been on the receiving end of one of Gholston’s game-winners on Jan. 3, 2021, when Gholston’s Milwaukee Panthers defeated Gates’ Cleveland State Vikings in overtime, 81-80.

Gates noted that some teams would’ve intentionally fouled after the Golden Knights took the lead to preserve the clock. But the head coach felt his team’s best chance to score would be by forcing a stop and playing against a scrambled UCF defense.

The plan worked and Gholston’s shot awarded the Tigers their 10th win of the season and a boost of confidence after suffering their first loss of the year last week. Gates was happy to see his team bounce back.

“I'm definitely excited about our program’s response,” Gates said. “I love the momentum that our guys played with and collectively I thought we did a great job.”

Dennis Gates had an announcement at Missouri’s first practice after the loss to Kansas last weekend. The head coach had stuck with the same starting lineup of Honor, Hodge, Gholston and senior forwards Noah Carter and Kobe Brown in all 10 of his team’s first games. But that was about to change. He told his players minutes were up for grabs and whoever earned them, earned them.

In Saturday’s game, the Tigers inserted senior guard Tre Gomillion in place of Gholston and junior forward Ronnie DeGray III in place of Carter. Though the head coach liked the defense he saw from DeGray, the new lineup struggled, falling behind 10-0 to begin the game.

“At that point in my mind, you say to yourself, 'Damn, should I have changed the starting lineup?'” Gates said. “But you kind of go through the ups and downs of what you need to go through and you settle in.”

Gates said it was difficult letting Carter and Gholston know his decision but that both players took it in stride. Gholston said it motivated him — he’d only come off the bench twice before in his NCAA Division I career. He played just four minutes in the first half but was put back on the floor to begin the second half.

The Gary, Ind. native finished the game with 16 points, all of them coming in the second half.

“It was pretty hard. It was tough at first but my teammates — that's our culture,” Gholston said. “My teammates kept me in it, I stayed positive, I cheered them on. And my time, it came. You know, my number was called and it worked out.”

The Clemson transfer pushed the Tigers out of the mud, halting UCF’s game-opening 10-0 run with a 3-pointer to put Mizzou on the board. Honor would hit all of his next four shots, each of them coming from beyond the arc.

The point guard ended the game with a team-high 17 points to go along with two rebounds, three assists and a steal. It was a proper homecoming for the Orlando, Fla. native, who said he had family in attendance at the game.

“(The shots) felt good,” Honor said. “I always have to tell myself, you know, '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. Overall, it was a great experience.”

Missouri has one final tune-up game before the start of SEC play. The Tigers will travel to the Enterprise Center in St. Louis to take on Illinois (7-3) in the Braggin’ Rights game on Dec. 22 at 8 p.m.

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