Tuesday’s game between No. 22 Auburn and Ole Miss began as a tight contest and appeared that the winner would be crowned within the final minute of the contest.
However, after strong second-half adjustments, Auburn outscored Ole Miss 48-38 in the second half to earn the 82-73 win at The Pavillion at Ole Miss in Oxford.
After trailing by one point at halftime, Auburn came out of the locker room on a 12-4 run through the first five minutes of the second half to give them the 46-41 lead. [autotag]Wendell Green Jr.[/autotag] opened the final half with six quick points. After going 1-for-8 from beyond the arc in the first half, Auburn also made adjustments to attack the rim more in the second half, as they scored 46 points in the paint, 22 came in the second half.
Four players reached double-figures in scoring, led by Wendell Green Jr.’s 23, Allen Flanigan with 15, and 12 points from [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag]. Johni Broome recorded his fourth-straight double-double with 11 rebounds to go with his 19 points, which is the first since [autotag]Cinmeon Bowers[/autotag] accomplished the feat during the 2015-16 season.
Both teams traded leads three times in the final 3:42 of the first half, which ended with Ole Miss taking a 35-34 lead into the locker room at halftime. Auburn actually out-shot Ole Miss, 41% to 38% through the first 20 minutes, but three-point shooting and turning turnovers into points separated the Rebels in the end. [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] ended the half with 12 points and seven rebounds, [autotag]Allen Flanigan[/autotag] was next with six points.
Ole Miss jumped early on Auburn by taking a 15-10 lead at the under-15 media timeout. The Rebels’ hot start was fueled by their key players Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield, who combined to score 11 of Ole Miss’ 15 points. Broome scored the first seven points of the contest for Auburn, while [autotag]Zep Jasper[/autotag] hit a three-pointer with 15:15 remaining in the half to put Auburn in double-digits.
Ole Miss led by as many as seven before Auburn stormed back to take a 20-19 lead. [autotag]K.D. Johnson[/autotag]’s second-chance layup gave Auburn their first lead since the 16:34 mark.
Auburn returns to Neville Arena Saturday to host Mississippi State for a 7:30 p.m. CT tip-off. Before visiting Auburn, the Bulldogs will visit Georgia on Wednesday.
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