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The Missouri Tigers found out on Sunday that Kim Anderson would not be returning for the 2017-18 season, but Kevin Puryear bought his coach another game.
Puryear scored 30 points, grabbed 7 boards, and hit the game-winner in overtime as Missouri slipped past the Auburn Tigers, 86-83, on Wednesday night.
Missouri, which was shooting 29.1 percent on three-pointers entering Wednesday -- 346th in the country — shot 16-of-34 on threes against Auburn. Cullen VanLeer made 5-of-7 threes and scored a career high 16 points, while Frankie Hughes hit a three-pointer with 1.8 seconds left in regulation to force overtime after Missouri erased a ten-point deficit in the final three minutes.
Auburn freshman Mustapha Heron had 15 points and 14 rebounds, but he also had seven turnovers. With the loss, Auburn finishes the regular season at 18-14 and will await to find out whether they’ll be selected for the NIT or not. Missouri improves to 8-23 on the season and will face the Ole Miss Rebels on Thursday at approximately 9:25 PM ET.