Feb. 4, 2009
OXFORD, Miss. - Terrico White scored a game-high 19 points to lead five Ole Miss players in double figures as the Rebels won their third straight in a 78-59 victory over Auburn in Tad Smith Coliseum Wednesday.
Korvotney Barber led the Tigers with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Auburn (13-9, 2-5) jumped out to an early 9-4 lead, but Ole Miss (13-9, 4-4) answered with a 21-5 run over the next six minutes to take a commanding 25-14 edge. The Rebels then upped the margin to 36-23 before stretching it to a 46-28 halftime lead.
*We were terrible to start and offensive rebounding by Ole Miss killed us,* said Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo. *We gave up 12 offensive boards in the first half, and that just killed us.*
In the first half alone, the Rebels outrebounded the Tigers 28-15 and outscored them 12-7 in second chance points. Ole Miss nearly outrebounded Auburn on offensive rebounds alone as the Rebels had 12 in the first half. Ole Miss made 6-of-17 shots from 3-point range and freshman Terrico Whtie had 14 points.
Auburn shot only 35.5 percent (11-of-31) from the field in the first half and only 3-of-10 from 3-point range compared to Ole Miss* 43.2 percent (16-of-37) shooting from the field.
*We came out very flat tonight and were not physical,* said Barber. *We were exposed. When you come out flat, you will get exposed in this league every night.*
The closest Auburn ever came in the second half was 13 points early on before Ole Miss stretched its lead to 63-42 with 7:36 to play and to as much as 78-56 with just over a minute left.
For the game, Auburn shot only 36.5 percent (23-of-63) from the field and 22.2 percent (6-of-27) from 3-point range while Ole Miss finished 42.9 percent (27-of-63) shooting, including 35.7 percent (10-of-28) from 3-point range.
DeWayne Reed had 14 points for the Tigers and freshman Frankie Sullivan notched a SEC high 12 points in the first start of his career. Barber recorded his sixth double-double in the last 13 games.
David Huertas added 16 points for the Rebels, Zach Graham had 11 points on 3-of-4 three-point shooting and Terrance Henry and Malcolm White, both had 10 points and five rebounds apiece. In the past week, Ole Miss has defeated No. 24 Kentucky, broke a 10-game losing streak at Mississippi State and defeated Auburn.
Auburn returns to action as it plays host to Tennessee Saturday at noon in Beard Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.