Feb. 16, 2008
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OXFORD, Miss.- Quan Prowell scored 25 points and DeWayne Reed scored a career-high 23 points to lead Auburn to a season sweep of Ole Miss with a 90-78 victory in Tad Smith Coliseum Saturday. Frank Tolbert and Rasheem Barrett each scored 15 points and Quantez Robertson nearly recorded the first triple-double in Auburn history with seven points, eight rebounds and 10 assists to only one turnover.
The Tigers (13-10, 3-7 Southeastern Conference), who shot a season-best 63 percent from the floor, scored a season-high in points and had their largest margin of victory in Oxford since the 1999 SEC Championship season.
"I was proud of my team," said Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo. "Offensively, we were outstanding. Because of our offense, we were able to change defenses on our makes. I thought Quan (Prowell) shot the ball extremely well. Quantez (Robertson) almost had a triple-double for us. Again, our offense was key for us in winning the game."
Trevor Gaskins had 15 points for Ole Miss (17-7, 3-7), which dropped its fourth consecutive Southeastern Conference game and the sixth in its last seven. David Huertas and Eniel Polynice had 13 points apiece.
The Tigers trailed 49-45 less than three minutes into the second half, but went on a 15-4 run over the next 3:11 to go up 60-53 with 13:39 left. Auburn took a 53-51 lead on a 3-point shot by Tolbert with 15:32 left and never trailed again. Auburn gradually pulled away and Ole Miss never got closer than seven points in the final eight minutes.
Reed hit four 3-pointers and the Tigers were 10 of 20 on 3-point field goals, mirroring their play in an 80-77 win last month that sent the Rebels on their current skid. Once ranked as high as 17th in the nation, the Rebels are 4-7 since setting a school record with a 13-0 start.
Ole Miss led 43-42 at halftime, closing with a 19-9 run in the final five minutes. Huertas scored 11 points in the late flurry, wiping out a 13-point Auburn lead at 24-11 with 9:54 left in the half..
"I was concerned at the half with us being down by one point and having shot 63 percent from the field in the half," said Lebo. "I wish that we could shoot like that every game. Our effort was good the entire game. The week off that we had before this game definitely helped us tonight."
The Rebels took their biggest lead, 47-42, with 18 minutes remaining, but Auburn responded with an 18-6 surge to take control.
Auburn finished with 13 turnovers, with only four of them coming in the second half. The smaller Tigers were outrebounded 28-24 and were outscored 17-5 in second chance points. Prowell made 11-of-15 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range while Reed made 4-of-7 three-pointers and 9-of-12 from the foul line.