Auburn handles Missouri in battle of Tigers

AUBURN, Ala. — Johni Broome scored 20 points, K.D. Johnson had 14 of his 15 in the first half and Auburn blitzed Missouri 89-56 on Tuesday night.

In what Auburn coach Bruce Pearl called “a mustwin for us,” before the game, his Tigers led by 17 after seven minutes, 27 at halftime and 37 less than seven minutes into the second half in handing the visiting Tigers their worst loss of the season.

The teams entered the game tied for fourth in the Southeastern Conference, but Auburn had lost three-straight while Missouri was coming off a win at No. 6 Tennessee.

Allen Flanigan added 16 points for Auburn (18-8, 8-5) while Broome, who had his ninth double-double, and Dylan Cardwell both had 10 rebounds to lead a 48-26 rebounding advantage. Johnson made 4 of 6 3-pointers as Auburn went 9 of 18 behind the arc.

Sean East II had 14 points for Missouri (19-7, 7-6) and Deand Gholston added 10 but was 1-of-10 shooting. Missouri was 5 of 22 from distance (23%) and shot 32% overall.

This one was decided early. Flanigan opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and when Johnson drilled a 3 less than seven minutes in to cap a 14-0 run it was 19-2. Flanigan's dunk made it 30-6 nine minutes before halftime.

Auburn started the game 11 for 21, Missouri was 3 of 14 with seven of its 11 firsthalf turnovers.

With Johnson going 5 of 6 with four 3s, Auburn shot 50% in taking the 27-point halftime lead. Auburn also had a 23-13 rebounding advantage and scored 16 points off those turnovers.

Missouri shot 27% (7 of 26) and missed all eight of its long shots.

Zep Jasper hit back-toback 3-pointers in a 13-0 run early in the second half and the lead reached 37, 62-25.

Auburn heads to Vanderbilt on Saturday while Missouri is home against Texas A&M.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Liam Robbins scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Ezra Manjon added 15 points and Vanderbilt beat South Carolina for its fourth straight conference victory.

Vanderbilt (14-12, 7-6 SEC) has its first four-game winning streak in Southeastern Conference play since the 2016-17 season. The win also gave the Commodores their first season sweep of South Carolina since 2013.

Tyrin Lawrence had 11 points and Myles Stute scored 10 for Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt held South Carolina to just 12 points through the opening 14 minutes and led 25-12. The Commodores also struggled shooting in the first half at 35% but controlled the glass 30-15 for a 40-28 advantage in fieldgoal attempts.

Vanderbilt led by as many as 22 points in the second half and South Carolina only got it within single digits once after halftime with 38 seconds left.

Meechie Johnson scored all 19 of his points in the second half for South Carolina (9-17, 2-11), which has lost nine of 10 games. Chico Carter Jr. had 15 points, Hayden Brown added 11 points and Josh Gray grabbed 12 rebounds. Freshman Gregory Jackson II, averaging a team-high 15.7 points per game, came off the bench again to score just two points on 1-of-7 shooting.

Both teams play again on Saturday. Vanderbilt hosts Auburn and South Carolina plays at LSU.