KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — DeAndre Gholston began Saturday night with an air-ball. He ended the night with a crowd-silencing walk-off game-winner at Thompson-Boling Arena. His second buzzer-beating game-winning 3-pointer of the season beat No. 6 Tennessee, 86-85, one of the most improbable finishes either team’s fan bases has seen in a long time.
With a two-point lead with 4 seconds left, Tennessee’s Santiago Vescovi missed his first free throw, then a lane violation by the Volunteers’ Tobe Awaka set up Missouri’s last-second heroics. The Tigers (19-6, 7-5 SEC) had blown a 17-point second-half lead, but just like he did against UCF in December, Gholston delivered the winner just as the final buzzer sounded. Tennessee fell to 19-6 and 8-4.
The last time Mizzou visited Knoxville in 2021, the Vols were also ranked No. 6 — and also lost to the Tigers.
The Vols, owners of the nation’s No. 1 defense when the day began, struggled to unleash their usually suffocating defense but took control in the second half with a 15-0 run. Tyreke Key scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half, igniting the Vols’ seemingly decisive run with a string of open 3s.
Kobe Brown’s layup with 7 seconds left got the Tigers within a point of the lead, but Vescovi pushed UT back up three with a pair of free throws, setting up what appeared to be one last Mizzou possession. Fouled with 4 seconds left, Sean East split his free throws for a two-point deficit. From there, Vescovi went to the line for the Vols’ fateful finish.
At times, the Tigers must have felt they were playing five on eight as an endless chorus of whistles had the Vols living on the foul line in the second half. By game’s end, Tennessee attempted 33 free throws to MU’s 17. Reserve center Mohamed Diarra fouled out with more than six minutes left while leading scorers Brown and D’Moi Hodge played in foul trouble throughout the second half.
Brown led Mizzou with 21 points, while Gholston had 18, East scored 16 and Hodge added 14.
Down to nine available scholarship players, the Tigers didn’t blink against the nation’s best defense, quickly recovered from Gholston’s game-opening air-ball then went on the attack. Mizzou traded punches with the Vols through the first two media timeouts, then with 10:18 left in the half, Brown might have gotten away with a push-off to corral an offensive rebound — the sold-out crowd saw it that way — but he found Gholston open on the wing for the go-ahead 3-pointer, giving Mizzou its first lead 21-20.
Then it was East’s turn. The backup guard erupted for a 10-0 run, putting the Tigers in command with four straight baskets: two 3-pointers, his signature floater in the lane and a jumper along the baseline. East’s surge coincided with an offensive disappearance against Mizzou’s zone by the Vols, who missed five straight shots. Diarra added to the onslaught with a jumper just inside the 3-point arc.
The Tigers closed the half making seven straight shots, including a corner 3-pointer by Nick Honor to beat the shot clock and silence the crowd of orange, giving the Tigers a 44-32 halftime lead.
Mizzou extended its lead to 17 early in the second half, but the Vols hammered away thanks to a flurry of fouls in the Vols’ favor. Tennessee was in the double bonus midway through the half as both Brown and Hodge had three fouls by the 12-minute timeout. With 11:41 left, Key woke the crowd back up with a corner 3-pointer, cutting the Tigers’ lead down to six, the only field goal on UT’s 9-0 run.
Gholston broke Mizzou’s drought with five quick points, but the Vols stormed back with two more 3s from Key, the start of a 15-0 run for Tennessee. Vescovi’s corner 3 coming out of the 8-minute timeout gave the Vols their first lead of the second half, 67-64, but Mizzou never trailed by more than two possessions. Vescovi and Gholston traded 3-pointers in the final two minutes to keep it tight, setting up the final dramatics on the foul line.
Both teams played without their fourth leading scorers. UT’s Josiah-Jordan James sat out with a knee injury while the Tigers played without guard Isiaih Mosley for the second straight game. Mosley did not make the trip to Knoxville for what the team described as “a private and personal matter,” a team spokesperson said an hour before tip-off. It is not considered a disciplinary issue, the team confirmed.
Mosley, MU’s fourth-leading scorer, also missed Tuesday’s game against South Carolina after appearing in six straight games, including four starts. Mosley played in nine of MU’s first 11 games then missed six consecutive games. The Columbia native and Missouri State transfer has averaged 9.6 points per game while shooting 30.6% from 3-point range.
The Tigers next play Tuesday at Auburn. The team is staying on the road rather than returning to Columbia, but a team spokesman said Mosley could make other travel arrangements to play at Auburn.
