Feb. 25, 2006
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Ronny LeMelle scored 19 points and made two clutch free throws to lead Auburn to a 58-54 victory over Mississippi on Saturday night.
"That's the best we've played on the road for 40 minutes this season," head coach Jeff Lebo said.
Auburn (12-13, 4-10 Southeastern Conference) snapped a 12-game road losing streak, won its first road game of the season and swept the series with Ole Miss. The Tigers also won 58-50 on Feb. 8 in Auburn, Ala.
Todd Abernethy's layup with 8.2 seconds left pulled the Rebels to 56-54, but LeMelle followed that with two free throws for the final margin.
Frank Tolbert and Joey Cameron scored 10 points apiece for the Tigers, who took the lead for good during a 10-2 run early in the second half. Tolbert hit a 3-pointer with 14:54 to play to start the run and give Auburn a 43-42 lead.
Ole Miss rallied to force a 52-all tie on Dwayne Curtis' layup with 5:54 to play, but the Rebels missed their next 11 shots before Abernethy's layup.
"They could not get the ball in the basket in the last five minutes and we were able to capitalize," Lebo said. "They missed open shots. They didn't shoot well at Kentucky and I think it carried over tonight. They just looked uncomfortable. Making shots is contagious, and missing shots is contagious. They missed a lot of shots tonight."
Auburn shot nearly 45 percent, was 11-of-15 from the free-throw line and held Ole Miss to 25 percent shooting from 3-point range.
Curtis, who transferred from Auburn before last season, had 18 points and 10 rebounds against his former team.
Londrick Nolen had all 12 of his points in the first half while Bam Doyne finished with 10 for the Rebels (14-13, 4-10).
Ole Miss has lost three straight and 10 of 11 since starting SEC play with three victories.
The Tigers won consecutive SEC games for the first time this season to force a three-way tie with Ole Miss and Mississippi State for fourth place in the West.