Dec. 2, 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) - Frank Tolbert scored 24 points, Korvotney Barber had 21, and Auburn held off George Washington 74-70 Sunday in the BB&T Classic.
It was the fourth straight victory for the Tigers (4-1), who forced 21 turnovers and got 11 points from Rasheem Barrett.
Wynton Witherspoon scored 17 for George Washington (2-3) and Rob Diggs had 15. The Colonials have lost three straight.
Playing for the first time since beating Charleston Southern on Nov. 19, Auburn had only seven scholarship players. Senior forward Quan Prowell was serving the final game of a suspension for violating team rules; senior guard Archie Miaway is ineligible to play during the first semester; and freshman Boubacar Sylla has a sprained ankle.
No one from the bench scored, and only Lucas Hargrove took a shot. But Tolbert, the lone senior on the roster, picked up the slack by going 10 of 16 from the floor.
Auburn led 51-48 before DeWayne Reed hit a jumper and Barrett added a three-point play to up the margin to 8. Minutes later, GW's Damian Hollis connected from beyond the arc and Cheyenne Moore added a dunk and two free throws to tie it at 62 with 5:07 left.
After the Tigers went back in front 67-62, Maureece Rice made a 3-pointer for the Colonials. But Barber answered with a driving layup and Quantez Robertson hit two foul shots to make it 71-65.
Tolbert scored 15 in the first half on 7-of-8 shooting to stake Auburn to a 38-37 lead.
Both teams displayed little defense in the opening 20 minutes. The Tigers shot 62 percent and GW went 15-for-29, including a 5-for-7 performance by Diggs.