NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Behind a buzzer-beating three-pointer and a career-high 30 points from sophomore forward Kevin Puryear (Blue Springs, Mo.), Mizzou Men's Basketball (8-23, 2-16) defeated Auburn (18-14, 7-11) in overtime, 86-83, in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Wednesday night. Auburn led by 10 with less than four minutes to play, but Mizzou scored 14 of the final 18 points in regulation to tie the score and send the game to an extra period, where Puryear notched five points, including the clincher from deep range to seal the game.
The Tigers made a season-high 16 three-pointers in the game, led by Puryear and sophomore guard Cullen VanLeer (Pacific, Mo.), who each sank five. Three other Tigers joined Puryear in double figures scoring, as VanLeer scored a career-high 16 points, sophomore guard Jordan Geist (Fort Wayne, Ind.) netted 14 points and junior forward Jordan Barnett (St. Louis, Mo.) chipped in 11 points. Puryear led the team in rebounding with seven rebounds, while Geist led the team in assists with a career-high seven dimes.
After yielding the first five points of the game to Auburn, the Tigers bounced back by scoring nine-straight points thanks to three consecutive three-pointers from Geist, Phillips and Puryear. It was the first of two 9-0 runs in the half for Mizzou, as the second run gave the Tigers a seven-point lead at 22-15 following a Woods dunk. Mizzou shot 6-of-11 from beyond the three-point arc in the opening period and led, 36-35, heading into the intermission.
After trading buckets back-and-forth over the first three minutes of the second half, Auburn grabbed a 58-51 lead after a 16-6 run over the next six minutes. Down 10 points with 4:09 remaining in the game, Mizzou sank four three-pointers over the final four minutes of regulation to send the game to overtime.
With the time running down, Mizzou desperately needed a three to tie the score. VanLeer missed a contested shot from deep, but Puryear grabbed the offensive rebound and kicked it out to freshman guard Frankie Hughes (Cleveland, Ohio), who sank the trey with three seconds left to tie the score at 78-78.
In the overtime period, Mizzou found itself down three points once again when Hughes was able to get open in the corner and drain another three to tie the score with 1:21 left on the clock.
The score was still tied with 18 seconds left when the Tigers possessed the ball. Head coach Kim Anderson called timeout to draw up the final play. After getting the ball out on the wing to VanLeer, the Auburn defense surrounded the Tiger sophomore, forcing him to kick the ball to the top of the key for Puryear, who caught and stepped into his jump shot from beyond the arc to drain the winning shot as the buzzer sounded.
Mizzou will now play Ole Miss in the second round of the SEC Tournament, scheduled for approximately 8:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, March 9, at Bridgestone Arena, with the game set to be televised on the SEC Network.
For all the latest on Mizzou Men's Basketball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team at @MizzouHoops (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).
