If there was one way to sum up a season in one game, Auburn accomplished just that Wednesday night in Nashville.
In a season full of blown double-digit leads, Auburn made room for one more.
After leading by 10 with four minutes to play, and by six with 20 seconds to go, Auburn fell in overtime to Missouri 86-83 on a buzzer-beater three by Kevin Puryear.
“We’re obviously very disappointed,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “We felt like we were a couple of wins away from getting in the NIT and continuing to play. I give Missouri credit. Those kids continued to battle.”
“We had plenty of opportunities to make offensive plays — shots and free throws — and we had opportunities to get defensive stops and stay with shooters and we just didn’t.”
Auburn point guard Jared Harper made two-of-four free throws in back-to-back possessions to push Auburn’s lead to six with 26 seconds to go. It appeared all over for Auburn as their thoughts of a matchup vs. Ole Miss began to set in. Then the dramatics began.
Cullen Vanleer then hit a three to bring Missouri to within three points with 18 seconds to play. After a timeout, Auburn inbounded the ball to Harper who sprinted up the floor and picked up an offensive foul to give Missouri the ball back with 15 seconds remaining.
“I thought about fouling at the end of regulation but there was so much time left, 17 seconds, I decided to go ahead and let it play on through,” Pearl said.
Vanleer missed a three, but Puryear grabbed the offensive rebound and dished to a wide-open Frankie Hughes who buried a game-tying three with 1.8 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.
Auburn grabbed a 83-80 lead with 1:36 to go in overtime, but Hughes knocked down another clutch three with 1:21 left to knot things at 83.
Auburn had two chances to take the lead following the Hughes three, but Harper and T.J. Dunans could not convert for the Tigers. That sequence set up Puryear’s defining moment.
Vanleer drove into the lane and appeared stuck, but found a wide-open Puryear at the top of the key who knocked down the game-winner as the 14th-seeded Tigers earned their 8th victory of the season.
Auburn was led by Mustapha Heron who scored 15 points on just five attempts from the floor. He finished 8-of-11 from the free throw line and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds. Bryce Brown and Danjel Purifoy finished with 13 points apiece, knocking down a combined seven three-point attempts. Dunans and Ronnie Johnson finished with 11 points each. Harper dished out a career-high seven assists.
Auburn out-rebounded Missouri 39-33, but turned the ball over 16 times compared to Missouri’s 10. Auburn finished 24-of-55 (43.6 percent) from the floor and 11-of-25 (44 percent) from three-point range. The Tigers shot 66.7 percent (24-of-36) from the free-throw line.
Auburn’s season likely ended with the first-round exit in Nashville. The Tigers finished the season 18-14 and likely a couple wins shy of a NIT appearance. It is the second consecutive season that Auburn has bowed out of the tournament in the Wednesday night opening round.
With the win, Missouri (8-23, 2-16) moves on to take on Ole Miss Thursday night in Bridgestone Arena. Missouri was led by Puryear's 30 points and Vanleer's 16. Jordan Geist also had 14 points for Missouri. After resigning earlier in the week, Anderson will get the chance to coach his Missouri team at least one more time.
“I’m happy to have another day to be the coach at Mizzou,” Anderson said. “I’ve been lucky this year…I’m lucky to coach a group like this.”
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