March 1, 2006
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alonzo Gee scored a career-high 21 points and helped Alabama open the second half on a 24-8 run, as the Crimson Tide defeated Auburn 71-61 on Wednesday at Coleman Coliseum.
Auburn (12-14, 4-11 SEC) just trailed just once (9-8) until the 16:34 mark of the second half and led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but the Tigers were unable to fend off Alabama (17-10, 10-5 SEC), who shot 60 percent in the second half and snapped the Tigers' two-game win streak on Senior Night.
"I was very proud of our effort," head coach Jeff Lebo said. "We were in the ballgame the whole time; we missed some open shots and missed a lot of free throws. We got some very good looks. The intensity was there and we just need to keep playing hard."
Auburn shot just 33 percent in the second half and scored just two field goals in the first 10 minutes of the half as Alabama snapped the Tigers' two-game win streak on Senior Night and defeated Auburn for the seventh time in a row.
Ronny LeMelle paced the Tigers with 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting and Rasheem Barrett added 10 points before fouling out with 5:25 to play. Korvotney Barber and Daniel Hayles led the Tigers with seven rebounds apiece. The seven rebounds by Hayles tied a career high.
Trailing 31-26 at the break, Alabama used a 9-3 run to open the half to take its first lead of the game at 35-34 after a layup by Ronald Steele with 16:34 to play in the game.
Following Steele's layup, Alabama increased its run to open the half from 9-3 to 16-5 by scoring seven of the next nine points to push their lead to 42-26.
With Auburn leading by 11 following an 11-0 run, Alabama went on an 11-2 run beginning at the 3:25 mark of the half to pull within two at 28-26. With Alabama inching closer, Hayles buried his third three-pointer of the half as the horn sounded to give Auburn a 31-26 lead at the break.
With the score knotted at 15, LeMelle buried his second three-pointer of the half, which spurred an 11-0 run by the Tigers and gave Auburn its largest lead of the half at 26-15.
Alabama never led in the first half, but did tie the game on three different occasions. Every time Alabama tied the game in the first half, LeMelle gave the Tigers the lead right back by scoring a bucket each time.
Auburn concludes its regular season on Saturday, when the Tigers host South Carolina at 1 p.m. at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.