AUBURN, Ala. (AP)—Korvotney Barber scored 22 points to help Auburn easily handle Missouri State 75-60 on Friday night.
Missouri State outscored the Tigers 15-3 to close to within 50-48 at 10:49 as the Bears made seven of their first nine 3-pointers of the second half. But Auburn forced three straight turnovers that led to three consecutive scores by DeWayne Reed, Brendon Knox and Tay Waller to push its lead to eight points.
The Tigers (1-0) used an 11-2 run to take a 63-53 lead with 5:14 to play after the Bears closed to within 52-51 with 9:13 left. Missouri State could only get to within 67-60 with just under two minutes to play before Auburn scored the final eight points of the game.
Waller scored 14 points and Lucas Hargrove added 13 for the Tigers (1-0).
Chris Cooks scored 18 points but had six turnovers for Missouri State. Spencer Laurie and Cardell McFarland each had 14 points.
