Missouri Tigers vs Auburn Tigers Match Player Stats On Jan 26, 2021

Freshman Sharife Cooper matched his season high with 28 points to rally host Auburn to an 88-82 Southeastern Conference victory over No. 12 Missouri Tuesday night.

Cooper, who also had eight rebounds and seven assists, played only 28 minutes because of foul issues as Auburn (10-7, 4-5 SEC) recorded its first victory over a ranked team this season. It was his fourth outing of 20-plus points in six games since he was declared eligible earlier this month.

JT Thor added 12 points for Auburn while Allen Flanigan and Chris Moore put up 11 points each. Auburn won the rebounding 46-39 and blocked 14 shots to match its season high. Thor equaled his season high with four blocks.

Auburn also hit a season-high 36 free throws on a season-high 44 attempts.

Dru Smith scored a season-high 21 points and Jeremiah Tilmon recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead Missouri (10-3, 4-3). It was the first time this season that a Missouri opponent scored in the 80s.

Smith's eight points in the first half put him over the 1,000-point mark for his career, including his time at Evansville. He ended the night with 1,016 points.

Javon Pickett added 13 points for Mizzou.

Mizzou faced a 14-point deficit in the first half but built a 50-43 lead in the first five minutes of the second period before Auburn rallied. Cooper scored six consecutive Auburn points as the hosts grabbed a 66-62 lead with just over seven minutes left.

Auburn led 80-71 with just over two minutes remaining, then held on from there.

Auburn built a 30-16 lead at the 7:39 mark of the first half. Cooper went to the bench with three personal fouls a little over two minutes later with the hosts up 32-24, and Mizzou began chipping way.

The visitors got within 37-35 with 1:15 left, but Flanigan's free throws with 55 seconds left closed out the first-half scoring and Auburn was up 39-35 at the break.

--Field Level Media