Auburn cruises to easy victory over LSU
SEC NO. 19 AUBURN 95, LSU 70
AUBURN, Ala. — After coming out flat in its previous two home games, Auburn gave the crowd plenty to cheer about right from the start Saturday.
Mustapha Heron had 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting as No. 19 Auburn cruised to a 9570 win over LSU, maintaining sole possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference.
Bryce Brown scored 15 points and DeSean Murray had 18 points and eight rebounds for Auburn (19-2, 7-1 SEC). Heron also grabbed eight boards.
Auburn held LSU point guard Tremont Waters to four points on 1-of-7 shooting. Waters entered averaging 15.7 points and an SEC-high six assists per game. But he committed six turnovers and didn’t make his first field goal until midway through the second half.
Duop Reath was a force inside for LSU (12-8, 3-5) and finished with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Randy Onwuasor added 14 points.
Auburn put a quick end to its recent trend of slow starts with an 18-2 run early in the first half as Heron scored 16 points in five minutes to begin the game.
Auburn hit 11 three-pointers in the opening half and led by 19 after 20 minutes.
Auburn shot 55 percent and led by as many as 32. The Tigers outrebounded LSU 3824.
It was another impressive victory Saturday for Auburn. Their home court has become one of the toughest places to play in the SEC, and the Tigers have yet to lose at home this season.
Saturday marked the third consecutive game in which Auburn reached 50 points by halftime.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 74, MISSOURI 62
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Quinndary Weatherspoon scored a team-high 20 points as Mississippi State defeated Missouri.
The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for the Bulldogs (15-6, 3-5 SEC). Abdul Ado and Nick Weatherspoon each had 12 points for Mississippi State while Tyson Carter added 10 points.
Kassius Robertson had 20 points to lead Missouri (13-8, 3-5), while Kevin Puryear added 10 points.
The first half featured four lead changes and three ties. Missouri jumped out to a 17-10 advantage in the opening seven minutes before Mississippi State responded with an 11-4 run to tie the game at 21-21.
The Tigers then reeled off eight consecutive points to regain the lead at 29-24 only to see Mississippi State tie the game at 31-31 following Holman’s buzzer-beater to end the first half.
Mississippi State shot 54.7 percent for the game, including 66.7 percent in the second half. Missouri shot just 45.6 percent for the game and had 19 turnovers.
The Tigers did hold a 34-27 rebound advantage while Mississippi State had 15 turnovers.