NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ In the past 48 hours, Jordan Geist did everything he could to prevent his Mizzou basketball career from ending. On Thursday, it finally did.
After scoring a career-high 30 points in 12th-seeded Missouri's win over Georgia on Wednesday night, he had 25 in a 81-71 loss to No. 5 seed Auburn on Thursday in the second round of the SEC tournament at Bridgestone Arena.
"A lot of teams would have quit," Geist said. "We had to punch back. Every time we got punched we (had) to punch back."
Missouri ends the season at 15-17. Coach Cuonzo Martin said after the game that MU will not accept a College Basketball Invitational bid with the NIT and NCAA Tournament out of reach. Auburn (23-9) will play fourth-seeded South Carolina in the SEC quarterfinals on Friday.
Geist was Missouri's lone offensive sparkplug throughout the first half, scoring a game-high 13 in the first 20 minutes. Missouri and Auburn kept pace despite Geist getting little help on offense. Freshman Xavier Pinson accounted for six of MU's 10 turnovers in the first half, which led to 15 Auburn points. Missouri took better care of the ball in the second half, with just four turnovers.
Besides Geist, Torrence Watson was one of MU's only reliable players on offense. He finished with 20 points, which tied a career-high.
Both Geist and center Reed Nikko were called for flagrant fouls in the first half for hook-and-holds, which gave Auburn extra possessions. Sophomore Mitchell Smith hit a pair of threes that gave MU a 21-19 lead, but Auburn started an 11-0 run after his second triple. Missouri had no answer for Anfernee McLemore, who scored on MU in transition and from deep.
Auburn was a tough matchup for Missouri because all five of its players can space the floor and shoot. Coach Bruce Pearl doesn't use his center the same way Missouri does with Jeremiah Tilmon, which gave every Mizzou player a different assignment.
"When Jeremiah's in the game you can't really play their five man like a five man because he's stepping out and shooting," Mizzou senior Kevin Puryear said. "It's one of those situations where we have to switch. At one point we were switching one through five because all of them play on the perimeter."
Auburn led 28-21 and MU responded with three consecutive 3s. Auburn guard Jared Harper and wing Chuma Okeke battled foul trouble throughout the first half, giving Mizzou a chance. Another three from Geist tied the score at 30, but a late bucket sent MU into halftime trailing 32-30.
After shooting 3-for-17 from 3 in the first half, Auburn showed why it's one of the conference's top teams from behind the arc in the second half, shooting 9 for 17, keyed by Brown and Okeke, who returned from foul trouble. Brown hit three straight 3s, giving Auburn a 10-point lead with 14:42 left. Missouri responded with a 13-3 run powered by Geist, tying the score at 52. Martin said four of Auburn's second-half 3s came on offensive rebounds that Missouri couldn't secure.
Brown continued to hit 3s, but no lead was safe for Auburn. Missouri continued to stay within striking distance, trailing by just five points with 4:30 left, until it couldn't get a stop. Jared Harper's 3-pointer with three minutes left put Auburn up eight. Watson responded with a pair of 3s, but Brown matched him. Brown finished with 17 points and was one of four Auburn players in double figures.
Pearl praised Geist for his performance against his team and his senior season.
"I didn't start off caring for Jordan Geist very much when he first started competing," Pearl said. "He was sort of one of those players that if he was on your team, you'd love him. If he was on the other team, he bothered you. I want to congratulate him on a great career."
Missouri's locker room was sullen as the team processed the season's end, but Geist and Puryear expressed optimism for the future. Both entered the program when it was one of the worst in college basketball and dealt with culture issues and dozens of teammates coming in and out.
The Tigers' departing seniors said they're leaving the program in better shape than they found it and believe Martin is headed in the right direction. Pearl said he looked at the game as Geist passing the torch to Watson.
"There's good stuff to look forward to," Geist said.
