T.J. Dunans scored 16 points and helped fuel a strong start for Auburn as the host Tigers knocked off Missouri 89-78 on Saturday at Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala.

It was Missouri's 35th consecutive road loss overall and its 31st straight road defeat in SEC play. The Tigers have not won on the road since beating Arkansas on Jan. 28, 2014.

Auburn shot 68.8 percent from the floor in the first half and outrebounded Missouri 23-13. Dunans had an early steal off the Auburn press, leading to one-handed dunk and helping the host Tigers get off to a quick start on Senior Night.

Auburn led by as much as 20 in the first half and went into halftime with a 40-26 lead.

Freshman guard Mustapha Heron scored 20 points and freshman guard Danjel Purifoy added 13 points off the bench for Auburn (18-13, 7-11 SEC), which snapped two-game losing streak.

Missouri made an early run in the second half and cut the deficit to 66-57 on a dunk by Jordan Barnett with 13:42 to play. Auburn answered with a 3-pointer from Bryce Brown and a layup by Purifoy to push the lead back to 75-60 with 10:33 left. Coach Bruce Pearl's Tigers maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

Auburn led 87-70 with 5:16 to play but didn't make a field goal in the final five minutes. Missouri was unable to take advantage, though.

Sophomore forward Kevin Puryear scored 19 points and Barnett finished 12 points for Missouri (7-23, 2-16 SEC),which lost its sixth straight game. Sophomore guard Terrance Phillips added 15 points and sophomore guard Jordan Geist finished with 13 points.

The two teams will meet again Wednesday in the opening round of the SEC tournament in Nashville, Tenn.