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With Auburn leading No. 12 Missouri and the clock ticking down on Tuesday night, there was no question who would have the ball in their hand: Sharife Cooper.
“That’s my favorite thing to do is close the game,” Cooper said following the 88-82 victory. “Just making the right plays, making winning plays that affect the game tremendously – just by doing something little. That’s my favorite thing to do since I was a kid.”
Cooper’s influence on the Auburn offense was apparent as the Tigers struggled to do anything on that side of the floor with him on the bench early in the second half. The freshman finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists but it was his shooting at the free throw line down the stretch that was even more impressive as he finished 18-of-21 from the charity stripe.
Here is everything Cooper and Chris Moore had to say following the victory.
Sharife Cooper, G, Fr.
On beating an experienced Missouri team…
“It just gives you confidence. Just going out there and playing a team that you know is No. 12 in the country, they’re one of the best teams in the country, so we feel like we could compete with anybody after you win one of those games. It’s big for our confidence as a team individually, and I think we can build on that.”
On the challenge of facing Missouri’s guards…
“I saw what they did last game. I knew it was going to be a challenge. I love big games. It was super fun. For some reason, today was more fun. I don’t know why, but it was fun out there.”
On the bench having a big night…
“Great lift. It’s just fun to see. Fun as a team when everybody is contributing. That’s just good for those guys individually as well as our team, as well as moving forward. We trust those guys. We watch them in practice, so we know what they do behind the camera. We believe in them, and when they come out and show it, it’s just great.”
On making plays down the stretch…
“That’s my favorite thing to do is close the game. Just making the right plays, making winning plays that affect the game tremendously – just by doing something little. That’s my favorite thing to do since I was a kid. My dad instilled that in me. We’re a young team, so just being able to transfer that to college, it’s a great experience.”
Chris Moore, F, Fr.
On how it felt to play well…
“It felt great. All my life, it’s been about confidence. When I got here, I was shy of confidence, but the coaching staff has been getting on me all year about shooting my shot. That’s in our DNA. Me making shots and coming through for the team was really big. It felt good out there to make a lot of big shots.”
On being a much more experienced team with the group of young players…
“It shows that we’ve got guys with composure on this team that can step up in the big moments and make the right plays. We had Sharife (Cooper) coming down the stretch. Great point guard making the great plays. We had a good game out of JT (Thor). We had a great game out of Dylan Cardwell packing everything in the paint, being the big dog and alpha dog that we need in the paint. Everybody contributed tonight. It felt good to beat an experienced team.”
On the freshman class playing better and gaining experience…
“Our coaches emphasized that we’re not freshmen anymore. (Coach Pearl) says it now. We instill that into ourselves and just go out there and play our game like we’ve been out there for a long time.”