It wasn’t pretty, but Auburn was able to stop its losing streak and come away victorious on Tuesday night over Vanderbilt, 73-67.

Both teams struggled mightily in the first half, with Auburn shooting 7-of-32 from the floor and Vanderbilt shooting 9-of-27. The Commodores led 25-23 at the break.

But in the second half, behind a big performance from Sharife Cooper, the Tigers were able to come alive.

“It’s great to get a win on the road in the league,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. “Got to fight through some adversity. I think some of it was a little self-inflicted.”

While Jamal Johnson was the star of the show early for Auburn, scoring 13 points in the first half and 19 total on 5-of-10 shooting and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, Cooper helped Auburn navigate its second-half surge.

Cooper finished the game with 19 points and seven assists, 18 of which came in the second half.

"Sharife played great in the second half, didn’t have a turnover in the game, and that was just fun to watch—let him get downhill, and he’s so hard to guard, so unselfish," Pearl said.

In the final 7:01 of play, Cooper had 15 of Auburn’s 24 points.

"Yeah, I mean, Sharife, he's going to have the ball in his hands at the end of the game, so to be able to just control the ball, control the tempo, make free throws at the end of the game -- a close game -- that's just a plus," Johnson said. "I mean, he does a great job. Every game he's been back he's did a great job of leading our team to victories and helping us grow as a team. He just did a great job, and having him has just been a blessing, for real."

As a team, Auburn shot 51.9% from the floor and 66.7% from beyond the arc in the second half.

In his second-straight game back in the starting lineup, Devan Cambridge had 11 points, all of which came in the second half.

“Devan does a great job hitting shots, playing defense, energizing with the blocks,” Johnson said. “Like I said in the offseason, he was a hard worker in the offseason, and he's proven that this year. I'm proud of him. He's been doing a great job for us and helping us win games.”

While Auburn ultimately left Nashville with a victory, Pearl knows the team needs to play better to consistently win.

“We’ll have to play a lot better to win again,” Pearl said.

Auburn’s next game comes on Saturday at Rupp Arena to take on Kentucky.

FINAL STATS

Sharife Cooper: 19 points, 4-9 FG, 1-3 3FG, 10-11 FT, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 29 minutes, +1

Jamal Johnson: 19 points, 5-10 FG, 5-8 3FG, 4-5 FT, 3 rebounds, 25 minutes, +15

Devan Cambridge: 11 points, 4-9 FG, 3-6 3FG, 3 rebounds, 28 minutes, -1

Allen Flanigan: 10 points, 2-9 FG, 0-2 3FG, 6-8 FT, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 TOs, 29 minutes, +1

Jaylin Williams: 4 points, 2-7 FG, 0-3 3FG, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 TOs, 29 minutes, +3

Javon Franklin: 3 points, 1-3 FG, 3 rebounds, 6 minutes, +1

Chris Moore: 3 points, 1-3 FG, 1-2 3FG, 1 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 10 minutes, +2

JT Thor: 2 points, 1-6 FG, 0-2 3FG, 6 rebounds, 20 minutes, -3

Dylan Cardwell: 2 points, 1-2 FG, 3 rebounds, 17 minutes, +2

Stretch Akingbola: 0 points, 0-1 FG, 2 rebounds, 8 minutes, +9

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