AUBURN, Ala. – After Samir Doughty hit a 3-pointer to start the second half, Bruce Pearl briefly turned his back to the court to deliver a message to Auburn fans.
"Come on crowd, we need you!" the Auburn coach exhorted.
The noise level rose, and the Tigers gave fans plenty to cheer for, draining nine 3-pointers in 12 torrid minutes in Auburn's 92-58 win over Missouri Wednesday at Auburn Arena.
"Very pleased with the win, but we've got to play better," Pearl said.
The 34-point victory margin was Auburn's largest in SEC play in Auburn Arena history.
Auburn (14-6, 3-4) shot 55 percent on 3-pointers in the second half, making 11 of 20. For the game, the Tigers made 16 3s on 41 attempts.
Jared Harper led the Tigers with 16 points and five assists. Bryce Brown and Chuma Okeke added 14 apiece. Okeke registered a double-double, grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds.
"We came out with a lot of energy," Okeke said. "The last two games, we haven't been coming out the second half with a lot of energy, so we just tried to change that. I knew I had to box my man out and be aggressive on the boards."
Brown hit a pair of corner 3-pointers to give Auburn a 10-point lead early in the second half.
Horace Spencer and Malik Dunbar joined in the 3-point barrage, part of a 19-4 run to start the second half. Another Dunbar 3-pointer extended Auburn's lead to 20, 59-39. Auburn outscored Missouri 58-27 in the second half.
Danjel Purifoy and Anfernee McLemore added 3-pointers, helping Auburn extend its lead to 25. Purifoy scored a season-high eight points, adding two assists and two steals in 11 minutes.
"I felt like I'm almost back to myself," said Purifoy, who missed all of last season and the first nine games this season. "I'm getting there. I'm just happy to be back, and just enjoying the wins with my team, just building these bonds that we're building."
"It was great to have him out there," Pearl said of Purifoy. "He did a nice job. It was great to have him back. We needed him."
Nine Tigers made 3-pointers, including walk-on Devontae Williams.
Okeke scored 11 in the first half to give Auburn a 34-31 halftime lead.
The Tigers hit their first three 3-pointers before misfiring on their next dozen attempts from behind the line.
Okeke banked in a 3 to end the drought, giving Auburn a 24-23 lead. Okeke's baseline jumper with 2 seconds left put Auburn on top by three at the half.
Missouri (10-9, 1-6) outrebounded Auburn 25-17 in the half, but the home Tigers overcame that disadvantage by committing only one turnover in the first 20 minutes.
The Tigers remain at Auburn Arena Saturday at 7 p.m. CT against Alabama on ESPN2 in the annual AUTLIVE cancer game, raising money to support local cancer patients and promote early detection.
"We beat them last year in our house," Okeke said. "So I know they're going to try to come here and try to take this win from us. We've got to play like we did today, guard on defense, value possessions on offense, and hopefully we'll come out with a win."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Auburn routs Missouri 92-58, largest SEC victory margin at Auburn Arena
