Nov. 13, 2009
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AUBURN - Auburn came back from a seven point deficit and outscored Niagara 11-0 in the final 89 seconds to stun Niagara 69-65 in the final season opener in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum Friday. DeWayne Reed scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Tigers in the Glenn Wilkes Classic first round.
Niagara (0-1) used an 11-2 run to take a 65-58 lead with 2:24 to play but did not score again as Reed scored eight straight points to give Auburn a 66-65 lead with 12.5 seconds remaining.
In that incredible run, Reed made a conventional 3-point play with 1:24 left, stole a pass and dunked it on the other end with 52 seconds to go and then had another conventional 3-point play to close out the run. Lucas Hargrove set up the go ahead basket with a huge game-saving block of Rob Garrison's layup with two seconds remaining.
"I wanted to step up and carry our team," said Reed. "We didn't have Tay Waller, so I had to pick up his slack. We had to put it together and come up with the win. Coach wanted me to jump to the ball. I knew he was going to drive because there were only a few seconds on the clock. I got into help side, and I put my hands up and the ball was there. I took it to the other end."
The game was close throughout before the crowd of 4,613 as neither team had a lead larger than five until Niagara went up by seven with 2:24 to go. Auburn (1-0) played without senior starting guard Waller, who was out with a quad injury. Waller ranked second in the SEC last year with 100 made 3-pointers.
The Tigers finished shooting 35.1 percent from the field and 18.2 percent (4-of-22) from 3-point range. Auburn did, however, make 25-of-30 free throws for 83.3 percent.
"It was a great win for our team," said Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo. "Niagara, as you can see, is very worthy of the hype that they have. They were 49 in the RPI last year and returned four starters and five seniors. They are a very difficult team to play against. They played very small. They're quick. They can shoot from a lot of different spots and they're unique.
"I'm proud of DeWayne. He made some big plays, and that's what you would expect from your senior coming down the stretch. He made a huge play in the paint to put us ahead. Lucas* block was big."
Niagara had an early 12-7 lead seven minutes in but Auburn scored eight straight to go up 15-12. There were seven lead changes and eight first half ties, the last being at 33-33 at halftime. The second half was much of the same with the Tigers grabbing a 43-39 lead almost six minutes in but could never shake the Purple Eagles.
The Tigers led 54-50 with nine minutes remaining but the Purple Eagles had a hot stretch where they had a 10-2 run for a 60-56 lead with 6:36 to play.
"We had funky lineups out there," said Lebo. "They went very small, so we went really small. We're used to playing small at four positions, not at five positions with this year's team."
Three Tiger freshman accounted for 56 minutes of action led by Andre Malone's eight points, Earnest Ross's six points, five rebounds, two steals and two assists and Ty Armstrong's four points and three rebounds in only seven minutes.
Sophomore Frankie Sullivan added 10 points and seven rebounds while Brendon Knox chipped in seven points and five boards in 22 minutes.
"I was happy with the win," said Reed. "Without Tay, it is hard because other people key on him. I value him on my team, so it makes it really hard."
Villanova transfer and fifth-year senior Bilal Benn led Niagara with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds while Anthony Nelson added a team-high 17 points and Demetrius Williamson 16 points and seven rebounds.
Auburn held Niagara to 36.9 percent shooting from the field and 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from 3-point range while the Purple Eagles went 9-of-10 from the foul line. Niagara outrebounded Auburn 41-26 and the Purple Eagles had 17 turnovers to Auburn's 16.
Auburn returns to action as it plays at Missouri State in its season opener on Monday at 7:05 pm Central before resuming the Glenn Wilkes Classic in Daytona Beach against UCF next Friday, IUPUI on Saturday and North Carolina State on Sunday.