Six Tigers In Double Figures In Win In Oxford
Lead: Auburn downs rebels on the back of largest comeback of their season.
Oxford, MI- #16 Auburn (19-4, 7-2) paid a visit to Oxford Mississippi for the second clash of the season with the Rebels of Ole Miss (18-4, 5-4). The first matchup at Neville Arena ended in a 20+ win for the Tigers. As the last few road games have shown a road win in the SEC is almost never as easy as playing on your own court. The Rebels started hot and stayed hot throughout this one but it was the Tigers who mounted a huge second-half comeback to pull out the win.
Ole Miss ended the first half up nine and shooting 50% from beyond the arc. They came in ranked 3rd in the SEC in efficiency from that spot on the court and showed just how good they can be in the first half. In the second half, they shot 28% from the three-point land and ended the game shooting 42%.
It was resilience from Auburn though to stay not only in the game but within striking distance for when Ole Miss cooled off. Auburn came out of the half and stormed back thanks to the play of Jaylin Williams and Chad Baker-Mazara, the second half was one of back-and-forth basketball compared to the first which was dominance from the Rebels. Auburn shot 44% from deep in the game, an impressive percentage considering the quality of the rebels defense.
Auburn ended up with six players in double figures, a depth that helped them stay energized even late closing out the Rebels in their attempts to regain the lead.
“They played seven guys in double digit minutes, and we played 10 ya know” Coach pearl said “I do think fatigue was a factor so I agree that we were refreshed in the second half” “I think it's the key to our season” Pearl had to say about the six players in double figures.
Jaylin Williams led the Tigers in scoring with 16 keeping them in this one when the Rebels came out firing in the first half. He shot 54% from the field, stepping up for the Tigers.
Moussa Cisse impacted the game in the way he normally does on the defensive end with his blocking ability he added four more to his already impressive season total. He also was a momentum player with a few huge slams for the rebels.
Allen Flannigan was the leading scorer for the Rebels and the game, he ended his impressive game with 20 shooting 40% from the field and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc.
Auburn had an impressive 14 offensive rebounds leading to 15 second-chance points. Led by several Tigers with two off rebounds each, most were credited to the team highlighting the ability of the Tigers to keep a play alive.
John Broome added to the impressive Auburn comeback in a hostile environment filling the stat sheet with 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Chad Baker-Mazara also filled his stat line with 15 points and nine rebounds.
“He was patient and he scored” Pearl said after the game “he was the difference on the inside”
The Tigers will be back in action this Wednesday at home when they host the Alabama Crimson Tide for this season’s second edition of the basketball Iron Bowl. The game will be live on ESPN for a 6 pm Central tip-off in conjunction with the Auburn Sports Network.
