Auburn did not officially earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday, but they sure helped their case.
In a game that saw five lead changes and six moments with a tie score, Auburn won its battle with Ole Miss at Neville Arena, 78-74, earning the season sweep over the Rebels.
The Tigers were seen as heavy favorites heading into the contest and showed signs of dominance at times throughout the game, leading by as many as 12. But no matter how many runs or strong leads that the Tigers put together, they could not seem to run away from the Rebels.
After a back-and-forth effort throughout, Auburn was able to put the nail in the coffin at the 4:44 mark in the second half. [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] made a second-chance layup to break a 64-64 tie. That basket would prove to be vital, as Auburn would only outscore the Rebels 12-10 over the final five minutes to escape with the win.
The Tigers jumped out to an 8-4 lead at the first media timeout behind a perfect free-throw outing by [autotag]Allen Flanigan[/autotag] and [autotag]Zep Jasper[/autotag]. Flanigan set the tone of the game with a wide-open dunk at the 17:13 mark that put Auburn ahead, 6-4.
Auburn extended its lead to nine points over the next three minutes to move their lead to 17-8. [autotag]K.D. Johnson[/autotag] scored his first basket of the game, a three-pointer, and [autotag]Lior Berman[/autotag] slammed home a shot with 12:20 to go in the half, forcing Ole Miss to call a timeout.
Following the timeout, Ole Miss began chipping away at Auburn’s lead, and ultimately re-took the lead. Theo Akwuba tied the game at 24-24 with 6:36 remaining in the first half, and Matthew Murrell gave his team the 26-24 lead 36 seconds later on a layup to erase the once nine-point deficit.
Both teams would trade leads two times over the final 5:39 in the half before Auburn entered halftime with the 40-33 lead. Auburn outscored Ole Miss 14-7 over the final 5:05 to jump out to a seven-point halftime lead, and led by as many as nine points during the stretch.
Auburn’s first-half momentum stayed with them into the second half, as they would lead by as many as 12 points through the first four minutes of the half. Flanigan connected on a three-pointer with 18:10 remaining in regulation to give Auburn the 46-34 lead, their first double-digit lead of the game.
The lead was shortlived, however, as Ole Miss went on a 13-0 run over a span of 3:19 to take a 58-55 lead over Auburn with 9:44 remaining in the game. [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] ended Ole Miss’ run with a dunk at the 7:51 mark to cut their lead to 60-59.
James White of Ole Miss nailed a three-pointer with 6:21 remaining to move their lead to 63-59. That shot would light a spark for Auburn as the Tigers would rattle off five unanswered points in 32 seconds to retake the lead, 64-63.
Auburn solidified the win by taking control of the final 5:12 of game time. The Tigers broke the 64-64 tie with a Broome layup. The score would give Auburn a six-point boost with 3:14 left in the game, 70-64.
Four Tigers ended the game in double-figures led by Green’s 23-point outing. Broome followed with 19, Williams posted 12 points while Flanigan scored 11.
Auburn will take part in its final SEC road weekend game of the season on Saturday when it faces Kentucky at Rupp Arena in Lexington. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT and can be seen on CBS.
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