The latest upset of March Madness involves the SEC Tournament champions.
No. 4 seed Auburn faced several instances of adversity in Friday’s round of 32 contest with No. 13 seed Yale, with the final blow taking place over the final 2:10 of regulation. Yale’s John Poulakidas nailed a three-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 73-72 advantage. Unfortunately for the Tigers, it was a lead that Yale managed to hold. The Bulldogs completed the upset of Auburn on Friday by taking down the Tigers, 77-74 on Friday at Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington.
A three-point jumper by [autotag]Denver Jones[/autotag] pushed Auburn ahead, 68-58, with 7:27 remaining in the contest. From that moment, Yale took control of the game by chipping away and ultimately stealing the win. Bez Mbeng answered Jones’ three-pointer with one of his own with 7:12 to go in the game. The long-range bucket kicked off a 17-9 run by the Bulldogs to secure the victory.
Auburn outshot Yale, 51% to 46%, and took advantage of Bulldog turnovers by turning them into 15 points. However, scoring nine points over the final eight minutes, plus Yale’s ability to score 19 points in fastbreak situations, led to a Yale win. Auburn also had zero answers for Yale guard John Poulakidas, who scored 28 points in Yale’s win. He connected on 10-15 shots, which includes an astonishing 6-9 mark from three-point territory.
Auburn had an eventful first half that required adjustment. At the 16:59 mark in the half, Auburn guard [autotag]Chad Baker-Mazara[/autotag] was ejected after throwing an elbow at Yale’s August Mahoney. The action was deemed a flagrant 2 foul and forced Baker-Mazara’s game to be cut short just three minutes into the game. Following the ejection, the Bulldogs went on a 12-4 run over the ensuing three minutes to take an 18-16 lead with 13:30 to go in the half.
[autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] turned a Yale turnover into points with a dunk at the 12:29 mark in the first half to put Auburn back in front, 20-18, a lead that the Tigers would not relinquish for the remainder of the half. The Bulldogs trimmed the lead to one point with 12 minutes remaining, but the Tigers would build a seven-point cushion to take into halftime.
Yale began the second half strong by erasing Auburn’s 41-34 halftime lead on a 10-2 run over the first five minutes of the half. The Tigers answered by piecing together a 9-0 run to take a 57-48 lead with 11:10 remaining in the half. The Tigers would lead by as many as 10 points in the second half before the Bulldogs trimmed, and ultimately, stole the lead in the final two minutes.
[autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] was the Tigers’ top producer, scoring 24 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Denver Jones scored 17 while Jaylin Williams dropped 13. [autotag]Tre Donaldson[/autotag] recorded six rebounds in the loss.
Yale will move on to face No. 5 seed San Diego State on Sunday in the round of 32. The Aztecs survived a scare of their own Friday by beating No. 12 seed UAB, 69-65. Auburn’s season ends with a 24-8 record.
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