Auburn’s fast start, hot shooting forces rout of Mizzou

AUBURN, Ala. – Bruce Pearl turned the crowd behind him and waved his hands, asking for a distraction before Auburn tipped off against Missouri in what BP called a must-win game, the biggest Tigers of the year.

Like Pearl’s team, the fans got the message.

Auburn raced to a 27-point halftime lead, blasting the visiting Tigers 89-56 Tuesday at Neville Arena to emphatically snap a three-game losing streak behind Johni Broome’s double-double and KD Johnson’s sensational first half.

“We played really well tonight,” the Auburn coach said. “I’m really proud of the guys because they’ve worked so hard over the last few weeks, we’ve played better, but it’s not rewarded. We literally won every position tonight.”

Broome led the way with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

“This is a game we have to win,” Broome said, echoing Pearl’s pregame sentiment. “Everybody went out and tried to make it work.”

“We need Johni to be dominant inside,” Pearl said. “We have an advantage in position five tonight. We control five points, which is what we need to do.”

Allen Flanigan added 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting, Wendell Green Jr. added nine assists with no turnovers, and Jaylin Williams scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds.

“I’m glad we shot the ball better,” Pearl said of Auburn’s 9-for-18 3-point shooting. “It has a chance to give us a little bit of confidence going forward.”

Johnson made 4 of 5 3-point attempts while scoring 14 in the first half, punctuating a 14-0 run that gave Auburn a 19-2 lead, forcing a Missouri timeout at the 13:05 mark.

“We just take whatever we’re given,” Johnson said. “Hopefully it goes in, and goes in tonight and gets the W. We needed this one. We got this for [Coach Pearl]our team and our fans.”

Johnson extended Auburn’s lead to 20 with another 3-pointer. Flanigan’s steal and slam pushed the lead to 24 and closed at 6-0.

Johnson drilled another corner 3-pointer and Williams scored a basket and added a free throw during a 10-0 run to give the home team a 43-16 lead.

Auburn held Missouri without a 3-pointer in the first half on eight attempts.

The points kept coming in the second half. Zep Jasper hit a 3-pointer during a 13-0 run that gave Auburn a 37-point lead at 62-25.

Lior Berman’s 3-pointer put the Tigers ahead 89-50, Auburn’s largest lead. Berman tied the season with eight points. Dylan Cardwell added eight points and 10 rebounds. Johnson added two free throws in the second half to finish with 15 points, his most in an SEC game this season.

“It just keeps getting better,” Johnson said. “You’re going to lose some and win some. You’ve got to come the next day and work hard. We’ve focused on what’s ahead, not what’s behind. We’re keeping that mindset, we’re going to continue this and move on to March. “

Auburn outshot Missouri 48-26. Sean East II led Missouri (19-7, 7-6) with 14 points.

Auburn (18-8, 8-5) travels to Nashville to play Vanderbilt on Saturday at 7:30 pm CT on the SEC Network. “Our guys want to try to make history,” Pearl said. “We want to get to the NCAA Tournament. This helps but we still have work to do. Big win, we’ll take it off tomorrow and get ready for Vanderbilt.”