With the first half winding down, Missouri senior guard Keith Shamburger fed the ball on a fast-break to freshman guard Namon Wright for the basket, tying the score at 30 apiece at halftime.

With the shot clock winding down, Shamburger drove to the basket and put up a shot as he fought off a swarm of three Auburn players towering over the 5-foot-11 guard. The ball rolled through the basket as a defensive foul was called, and Shamburger strutted over to the student section flexing his biceps.

With the game winding down and the score knotted at 61, freshman guard Montaque Gill-Caesar poked the ball away from Auburn’s Cinmeon Bowers and fed it to none other than Shamburger. He put up a jumper in the paint with 10 seconds left. Swish.

Needless to say, it was Keith Shamburger Night at Mizzou Arena.

Shamburger and the Mizzou Tigers (9-21) defeated Auburn (12-18) 63-61 Tuesday on Senior Night at Mizzou Arena. The guard from Los Angeles tied his season-high of 21 points.

Baskets weren’t the only stats stockpiled by Shamburger in Tuesday’s home finale. The guard grabbed six rebounds against Auburn, and dished out four assists. Missouri coach Kim Anderson expected this sort of game from Shamburger.

“He’s a veteran,” Anderson said of Shamburger, a fifth-year senior now at his third college. “He’s been around. I’m happy that he played well and that he made the winning shot.”

Minutes after being escorted to center court with his mother Conchita, Shamburger had connected on his first three shots, and was beating Auburn on his own 8-7. Nine minutes in, he had 11 of the Tigers’ 15 points.

“Once I saw the first couple shots go in, it felt good, and I knew tonight I was going to be able to make a lot of shots,” Shamburger said. “Those first couple of shots really encouraged me to just do whatever I could tonight.”

Shamburger continued on, leading the Tigers in another senior’s last home game.

“It felt great just seeing Keith go out there, playing and having fun doing it,” fellow senior Keanau Post added.

Averaging 6.3 shots per game coming into the Auburn game, Shamburger finished the game with 14 shots attempted, as much as the number on the back of his jersey. He connected on half of his shots Tuesday.

Even when he missed a shot, Shamburger was still getting the ball in the basket for the Tigers. With 16 minutes left in the game, freshman forward D’Angelo Allen grabbed Shamburger’s rebound and dunked it home. Everything was going right for Shamburger, and in front of his family, too.

With every touch of the basketball, shouts of support came shooting out from three rows in front of the media section, where Shamburger’s mother and other fans sat. They were awarded a blown-up head of Shamburger after the game from ZouCrew, and Conchita cheered as loud as ever.

“I finally got (my mom) out here for a game,” Shamburger said. “I really didn’t care about the points or nothing. I just wanted to get a win on senior night and leave here with a win.”

But that almost didn’t happen. There was a time in which it looked like Auburn would spoil Shamburger’s night. As Auburn’s offense got hot late in the second half, the Tigers of Columbia went cold. They found themselves down eight with four minutes remaining.

Three three-pointers in a row by Mizzou, the first by Shamburger, cut the Auburn lead down to four with 2:42 to go. Shamburger went 3-6 from long-range Tuesday night.

Following the threes, two free throws from the man of the night brought Mizzou to within a couple.

Almost two minutes later came the game-winning jumper, Shamburger’s first since high school, he said. Following the steal from Gill-Caesar, Shamburger thought about diving for the ball. Instead, he set his feet and put up his last shot of the night.

“Keith thought way too long about passing it,” Anderson joked following the game.

But Shamburger didn’t pass it, and his final shot of the night would be his last in the Mizzou Arena. He only wishes he had more time as a Tiger.

“It sucks for me to just be here for the couple months that I was here,” Shamburger said, growing emotional following the game. “I’m going to miss this place, and I’m going to love this place like home.”

Shamburger’s last seconds playing on his home court could have been suddenly turned sour, however. Watching Auburn’s last second shot flying through the air, he thought it would go in. When at the last second it rimmed out, he turned to his teammate Allen:

“That’s the way to end it here.”