Auburn snaps 3-game skid with 92-58 rout of Mizzou
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) – Jared Harper scored 16 points while Chuma Okeke and Bryce Brown each had 14 to help Auburn snap a three-game losing streak with a 92-58 rout of Missouri Wednesday night.
Auburn (14-6, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) used a dominant second half to end the slide that sent the team tumbling out of the Top 25 following a six-week run in the Top 10. This one was actually close for the first 20-plus minutes.
Auburn matched its season-high with 41 3-point attempts and made 16 to help pick apart the league’s No. 2 scoring defense, especially after halftime.
Okeke had a career-high 12 rebounds and Brown made four 3-pointers.
Missouri (10-9, 1-6) got 15 points from Jeremiah Tilmon and 11 apiece from Jordan Geist and freshman Xavier Pinson, who made his first start. No. 2 scorer Mark Smith missed the game with an ankle injury.
Okeke scored 11 points in the final 7:32 of the first half to stake Auburn to a 34-31 lead that only grew when the rest of the team heated up, too.
Auburn’s offense snapped out of its funk for a 3-point flurry. Samir Doughty hit one 3 and Brown added two more, all in a 1:15 span, to push the lead to double digits for the first time.
Auburn made seven 3s in the first seven minutes after the half to help turn the game into a rout.
It was the most 3s Auburn had made since hitting 18 in the opener against South Alabama.
BIG PICTURE
Missouri: Has dropped three straight and six of its last seven games. Made just nine shots in the second half (32 percent).
Auburn: Heated up after a lackluster first half to snap its three-game skid. Had plenty of empty seats after Auburn’s fall from No. 7 to unranked.
INJURED STARTERS
Auburn center Austin Wiley (lower right leg) and Missouri’s Smith (ankle) both remained out with injuries. Wiley has sat out the past four games but wasn’t wearing a boot on the bench. Smith, who has missed two games in a row, leads the SEC in 3-point percentage.
PURIFOY’S GAME
Danjel Purifoy had his best game since returning from an NCAA suspension that kept him out last season and the start of this one. He scored eight points and made two 3-pointers.
UP NEXT
Missouri hosts Vanderbilt Saturday night.
Auburn hosts in-state rival Alabama Saturday night.
