Once again Auburn built a second-half lead, and once again Auburn lost it. This time it came in the first round of the SEC Tournament and may have ended the Tigers’ season.

Missouri erased a six-point deficit with 26 seconds left in regulation and then hit a 3-pointer as time expired in overtime to beat Auburn 86-83 Wednesday night at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

“We’re obviously very disappointed,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “We felt like we were a couple of wins away from getting in the NIT and continuing to play. I give Missouri credit. Those kids continued to battle.

“We had plenty of opportunities to make offensive plays — shots and free throws — and we had opportunities to get defensive stops and stay with shooters and we just didn’t.”

Trailing 78-72, Cullen VanLeer hit a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left. Auburn’s Jared Harper was then called for an offensive foul on a questionable call after a collision with Jordan Geist.

VanLeer missed a 3-pointer to tie but Kevin Puryear grabbed the rebound and found Frankie Hughes for the game-tying 3-pointer with 1.8 second left.

“I thought about fouling at the end of regulation but there was so much time left, 17 seconds, I decided to go ahead and let it play on through,” Pearl said.

Auburn led by 10 with 5:04 left in regulation.

After making its first two field goals of overtime, Auburn missed its next four shots and had a turnover. With the game tied 80-all, Puryear nailed an open 3-pointer for the win.

Puryear finished with 30 points and seven rebounds. He made 5-of-9 3-pointers as Missouri made a season-high 16 from beyond the arc.

Auburn, which fell to 18-14 on the season, was led Mustapha Heron with 15 points and 12 rebounds, his second double-double of the season. He also had seven turnovers.

Bryce Brown and Danjel Purifoy had 13 points apiece while Ronnie Johnson and T.J. Dunans had 11 points apiece. Jared Harper had eight points and seven assists.

Auburn made just 24-of-36 (67 percent) from the free throw line, and committed 16 turnovers.

The loss likely knocks Auburn out of NIT contention and Pearl was noncommittal on the possibility of Auburn seeking another postseason tournament bid such as the CBI.

“Let’s talk about that next week,” he said.