Auburn coach Bruce Pearl might have been one of only a few people surprised that Dylan Cardwell’s three-pointer went in on Saturday.
We aren’t sure if Bruce Pearl was joking or not after Auburn’s 78-71 victory over Mississippi State but, according to the Tigers coach, Dylan Cardwell’s turnaround three-pointer was not an accident.
“He works on that shot all the time,” Pearl said. “Dylan Cardwell 1 for 1 from 3.”
Auburn used a balanced effort from starters Allen Flanigan, Jamal Johnson, J.T. Thor and Jaylin Williams to end the season with a victory. Flanigan led the team with 22 points while Williams added 18 and Johnson putting up 14.
Pearl, who earned his 600th career win, was happy with his team’s performance in the clutch.
“The game was close,” Pearl said. “We could’ve done a better job with stops. I wasn’t pleased at the end with some of the drive-bys. You’ve got to guard your yard and you’ve got to get stops, so I was disappointed in that. It put a lot of pressure on our offense, but we shot 57 percent in the second half. But we got good looks, and we were able to, out of one of our sets, just sort of play out of it. We got some really good looks, and the kids executed.”
Here’s everything Pearl had to say after the season-ending victory:
Opening Statement…
“It was really good to finish up winning two out of our last three, particularly winning these last two games at home against Tennessee and a good Mississippi State team. Mississippi State has four guys that are really good – the front line of (Abdul) Ado and (Tolu) Smith and (Iverson) Molinar and (DJ) Stewart in the backcourt – and they all were real factors. But our guys continued to compete. I can go right down the roster, but JT Thor, he leads us in rebounding. He’s giving away 50-60 pounds in there and leads us in rebounding. Jaylin Williams, I’ve talked about this a little bit, he can be a real problem and a real mismatch. He hasn’t been that every night. Well, down the stretch, he was an inside-out threat, and I’ve got really high expectations for both those two young kids. And then Jamal Johnson once again, you talk about game balls or whatever, I talked about him after the Tennessee game – to play 38 minutes-plus and have seven assists and two turnovers and knock down four 3s, what can you say? Other than look, he can the position, too, and I’m going to play him some point guard this offseason and next year. Allen Flanigan again a workhorse, scores 22 and doesn’t have a turnover, got in foul trouble in the first half. Dylan Cardwell 1 for 1 from 3. He works on that shot all the time. And then Chris Moore played a few more minutes tonight because we needed his physicality. He had a couple of big offensive rebounds, a big offensive-rebound basket, and just physically helped us out there. Good team effort and good to win two out of our last three.”
On making winning plays late…
“We did. The game was close. We could’ve done a better job with stops. I wasn’t pleased at the end with some of the drive-bys. You’ve got to guard your yard and you’ve got to get stops, so I was disappointed in that. It put a lot of pressure on our offense, but we shot 57 percent in the second half. But we got good looks, and we were able to, out of one of our sets, just sort of play out of it. We got some really good looks, and the kids executed. Again, the biggest thing is we only turned it over nine times. That’s the lowest all season long. We valued the ball, and you have to against a team that likes to play at a slower pace like Mississippi State.”
On celebrating 600 wins with the team…
“It was cool. I knew I was getting close, but I honestly did not know that I could get it (this season). Because let’s face it, when we were losing early in the year, I was not even thinking about it and didn’t really think it was possible. Looking at the schedule, too, right? With Florida, Tennessee, Alabama. Wes Flanigan came in the office and he goes, ‘You get this one Saturday, it will be your 600th.’ I said, ‘I don’t think I’m at 600. I know I’m getting close.’ He said, ‘Coach, it will be your 600th.’ We didn’t say anything to the team. I didn’t say anything to the team. The biggest thing is I’m old, I’ve been doing this a long time. But I’m just grateful to my coaches, staff, managers, the athletic directors that have hired me and retained me, the fans everywhere for giving me the opportunity, for trusting me to lead their programs. I’m truly grateful. Humble. Blessed. God’s blessed me beyond what I deserve. But I keep score, I do, and 600 is a big number. Seven hundred will be even better.”
On Allen Flanigan’s performance…
“He got downhill, he turned the corner. I kind of challenged him a little bit. Mississippi State was switching out, and I was like ‘Come on man, you’ve got to be able to drive by these big guys. We’re getting you double gaps. You should be able to turn the corner.’ He turned the corner a couple times and had some real tough 2s. He didn’t play for the foul, scored through the contact, and that’s what he’s got to do. The fact that he played 20 minutes in the second half and didn’t have a turnover, that was huge. Valuing the ball, taking caring of business. I get on Al pretty good because I just have a very high expectation for him. He’s a handful, but I’m just telling you there’s a lot of upside here. He’s got a lot more to give.”
