Feb. 12, 2011
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Auburn - Trailing by 19 points with 11 minutes left and by 14 with five minutes remaining, Auburn came back in dramatic fashion to defeat Mississippi State 65-62 in a soldout Auburn Arena on Saturday. Earnest Ross had 21 points and seven rebounds for the Tigers while Kenny Gabriel added 18 points and five boards.
Mississippi State (13-11, 5-5) was cruising when a Kodi Augustus dunk gave the Bulldogs a 51-32 lead and a Wendell Lewis dunk put them in front 53-35. The Bulldogs still led 56-42 with 5:00 left and that's when the Tigers caught fire.
Down by 13 points with 4:19 remaining, Auburn went on a 17-0 run that was highlighted by Gabriel's huge 3-pointer from the corner that put the Tigers ahead to stay at 59-58 with 1:18 to go.
Five-foot-10 point guard Josh Wallace's 3-point play on a layup and free throw with 26 seconds remaining capped the amazing run with Auburn ahead 62-58 with 26 seconds on the clock. Mississippi State did not attempt a field goal during the run and only had one free throw attempt.
The game-deciding run began when a technical foul was called on Augustus after his made jumper. Ross sank the two foul shots, followed by a Rob Chubb jumper and Gabriel conventional 3-point play in the lane that fouled out Mississippi State 6-foot-10, 270-pound center Renardo Sidney, who finished with nine points and 13 rebounds.
Gabriel then had a steal and highlight reel tomahawk dunk just before a Chris Denson steal and layup that pulled Auburn to within 58-56 with 3:06 left. Gabriel's huge trey then gave Auburn its first lead since 9-7 at 12:31 before the half.
"We were just trying to get in the passing lane, then Earnest Ross tipped it, then I got it," said Gabriel on his steal and dunk. "I saw him up the court, but I thought if I passed they might steal the ball. I took two more dribbles and jumped and tried to finish it. It got the crowd into the game, and we got the win."
Mississippi State had five turnovers and did not attempt a field goal during Auburn's huge run and only had one free throw attempt.
"I thought the last three minutes were solid," said Auburn head coach Tony Barbee. "The thing that I liked, down whatever it was in the second half, the guys didn't pack it in. We haven't all year long, but all I talked about was being mean and nasty and tough and then come winning time, let's not break down defensively. Let's not break down offensively.
"I felt like we could make a run at it because they were missing some shots. We just couldn't make any. I just kept telling the guys in the huddle that when you get the opportunity to contribute offensively, you have got to contribute. You've got to be able to make that shot, whatever that shot is, and we got some great looks."
Dee Bost, who led Mississippi State with 22 points on 4-of-8 three-pointers, scored on a layup with 19 seconds to go. Gabriel split a pair of foul shots with 15 seconds left to put Auburn ahead 63-60. Bost scored another layup with 6.5 seconds to go to close State to within 63-62.
Ross made two free throws with 3.5 seconds to go before Bost's halfcourt shot wasn't close.
Auburn (9-15, 2-8) led 7-2 early and 9-7 before regaining the lead in the game's final 78 seconds. Mississippi State, which opened the game 8-of-14 from 3-point range, scored 11 straight points to break open the game at 24-13 on a Riley Benock trey with 5:46 left in the half.
The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 15 points twice before settling for a 36-24 halftime advantage.
The 19-point comeback was Auburn's largest since Jan. 9, 1999, when the 14th-ranked Tigers trailed LSU by 19 points with 10:34 left in Baton Rouge to win 73-70 and run their record to 16-0. The largest comeback by an Auburn team came in an 82-78 victory over No. 13 Louisville in the Puerto Rico Shootout championship game on Nov. 26, 1995, when the Tigers trailed by 22 points at halftime.
"It was tough," said Ross on Auburn's huge comeback. "Coach told us to keep believing in our game and fighting back. We kept on, and I am glad that we came out with the win tonight. Coach told us that as long as we believe, we have a chance to win and at least compete in every game."
Auburn shot 55.6 percent in the second half to finish the game at 44.1 percent, while the Tigers made 4-of-7 second half 3-pointers to finish the game making half of their 12 attempts behind the arc. It was just the opposite for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs, who finished the game shooting 43.8 percent from the field, went 8-of-15 from 3-point range in the first half before making only one of its nine long range attempts after halftime.
The Tigers went 7-of-12 from the foul line, all in the second half, while the Bulldogs were 11-of-15. Much smaller Auburn outscored State 30-20 in the paint and only had 12 turnovers compared to the Bulldogs' 16. Mississippi State lost in the final game in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum last year and became the first SEC team to lose in Auburn Arena.
Auburn plays at Ole Miss on Wednesday at 7 pm Central in Tad Smith Coliseum. The game will be televised by the SEC Network.