COLUMBIA, MO. • Left foot, right foot. With the score tied and seven seconds on the clock, Florida guard Chris Chiozza kicked up each heel to his back, one at a time, left then right, and rubbed the soles of his Nikes, looking to get that perfect grip to make the play to win the game.

Seven seconds, six seconds …

The 6-foot senior, the smallest player on the court, wiped his left hand on his orange Gator shorts, ready to make the day’s biggest play.

Chiozza began the play lingering near Missouri sniper Jordan Barnett on the perimeter, but his eyes never left Jordan Geist, Mizzou’s ball-handler on the other wing.

Five seconds, four seconds …

With a chance to deliver the winning basket in Mizzou’s conference home opener, Geist made one too many dribbles between his legs and then threw the pass that Tigers fans won’t forget anytime soon. Looking for Kassius Robertson to his left, Geist waited fractions of a second too late. Chiozza chomped for the ball, like a Gator to his helpless prey, and snagged the pass for a walk-off steal and layup, basketball’s equivalent of a game-winning pick-six interception.

Three seconds, two seconds, one … basket, jubilation and heartbreak all in one breath.

Chiozza’s steal and score clinched a 77-75 Gators victory and summoned a collective gasp from Mizzou Arena.

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“He just made a good read,” said a red-eyed Robertson. “We didn’t see him coming. He jumped the gap. It was risky, but if he misses (the ball), we get a wide-open shot. But he got it.”

Chiozza’s basket gave the Gators their first lead in nearly 14 minutes in a game Mizzou led by 12 points in the first half and 10 in the second. Again, though, Cuonzo Martin’s Tigers (11-4, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) found ways to bungle a lead. In Martin’s mind, officiating didn’t help matters, but excuses aside, when the Tigers needed the right plays, they made the wrong ones.

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“We still have to figure out how to finish games,” Missouri guard Jordan Barnett said after scoring a career-high 28 points before his scoring touch vanished late.

After falling behind 36-35 at halftime, Mizzou regained the lead midway through the second half, then erupted for a 13-1 run, finished by Geist’s 3-pointer for a 62-52 lead with 10:05 left.

The rest of the half became a battle of attrition. Missouri freshman center Jeremiah Tilmon was done for the day with 5:37 left, picking up his fifth foul in just eight minutes on the floor. Freshman forward Jontay Porter played most of the second half in foul trouble, too.

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With 1:31 left, Porter danced around two defenders in the paint for a post bucket, good for a 75-70 lead. But Florida’s Jalen Hudson answered with a three-point play, setting up a crucial possession that fell flat for the Tigers when Kevin Puryear’s rushed jumper missed everything.

On Florida’s next series, Porter blocked Igor Koulechov’s layup, but the Russian Gator corralled the ball enough to flip a pass back to Hudson, who drew a foul from Robertson while launching a 3. Replays showed Robertson appeared to miss Hudson on the arm, though the Florida guard kicked out his leg to draw contact. Hudson made two free throws to even the score. Asked about the fateful foul, Robertson only offered, “I’m not going to talk about the referees.”

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The Tigers called a timeout with 12.4 seconds left to set up the final possession. With Porter and Puryear in the frontcourt, Martin wanted the forward guarded by Kevarrius Hayes to drag the 6-9 defender away from the action on the wing. Puryear did just that, leaving Porter to set a screen for Robertson near the 3-point line. Robertson’s defender followed Porter, freeing the senior guard at the top of the key to take the game-winning shot or zip a pass to Barnett on the wing.

“We were just looking to take the last shot,” Robertson said. “Any good look we got at the rim was the plan.”

In the Gators’ huddle, Florida coach Mike White laid out two directives: defend the post and contest any outside shots without fouling. Instead, the shot never came.

“Not exactly how we drew it up, of course,” White said, “but that’s the luxury of having a terrific point guard.”

Chiozza’s performance — 13 points, six assists, one unforgettable steal — underscored the Tigers’ issues at the point guard position. On Friday, freshman Blake Harris quit the team, later telling the Post-Dispatch his limited playing time was a factor, leaving Martin with veterans Geist, Terrence Phillips and, occasionally, Robertson as his ball-handlers.

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Geist had the lone assist among the three as they combined for six turnovers.

By game’s end, White left Columbia impressed by the Tigers’ turnaround in Martin’s first season on the bench. The last time White visited Mizzou Arena, just 11 months ago, his team annihilated the Tigers by 39 points.

“Cuonzo has done an amazing job,” White said. “For them to be playing as well as they are right now in such a short time is amazing.”

Not as amazing as Saturday’s final play, one that will haunt Mizzou fans much longer than it lasted.