Auburn, Ala. – University of Missouri men’s basketball dropped its SEC opener on Saturday afternoon, falling to second-ranked Auburn on the road, 84-68. Mizzou is now 11-3 on the season, while Auburn improves to 13-1.
GAME LEADERS
Graduate Marques Warrick led MU in scoring on the night, tallying a season-best 19 points on just eight field-goal attempts – 5-of-8 from the field, 2-for-4 from 3-point range and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
Freshman Marcus Allen added nine points in his first career SEC game, while senior Tamar Bates and sophomore Trent Pierce chipped in eight points apiece.
GAME RECAP
A stretch of hot shooting from the hosts gave Auburn an early double-digit lead it would not relinquish. Leading by just two points, 13-11, AU connected on five of its next six from 3-point range during a 16-4 run. Auburn also forced Mizzou into four turnovers during the stretch in building a 29-15 lead, which eventually turned into a 45-33 halftime advantage.
Auburn then used another strong stretch on both sides of the court to start the second half en route to the victory. The hosts started the stanza on a 12-1 run and held Mizzou to just 1-of-12 shooting to start the period, building as much as a 26-point lead before finishing with an 84-68 win.
TEAM STATS
Mizzou connected on 38.2 percent of its field goal attempts, while Auburn made its shots attempts at a 57.1 percent clip, including a 10-of-21 performance from 3-point range.
UP NEXT
Missouri returns to Mizzou Arena on Tuesday night, hosting LSU in its second conference matchup of the season. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on SEC Network.
