Feb. 3, 2011
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AUBURN - -Cameron Tatum and Brian Williams scored 15 points apiece to lead Tennessee to a 69-56 victory over Auburn in Auburn Arena on Thursday. Allen Payne scored 13 points to lead the Tigers.
After Auburn (8-14, 1-7) scored the first basket of the game on a Kenny Gabriel jumper, Tennessee (15-7, 5-2) scored six straight points to take the lead for good. The Volunteers pushed their lead to 13 points at 19-6 just over eight minutes into the game.
"It's a matter of two different level programs," said Auburn head coach Tony Barbee. "I thought we played scared tonight. How could you be scared of another college basketball player, regardless of their reputation or ranking?
"Not everyone did, but a majority of our guys played scared. That's unacceptable. Tennessee is a good team. They're huge, and they overwhelmed us on the backboard tonight. That's what cost us the game."
With Tennessee leading 37-24 at the half, Josh Wallace made a layup for the first points of the second half but that is as close as Auburn would get the rest of the way. Tennessee built its lead to 52-34 and then 60-38 with nine minutes to play.
The Vols led 66-44 with 5:10 to play before the Tigers ended the game on a 12-3 run.
Tennessee outrebounded Auburn 38-24 and the Vols had a 16-3 advantage in points off turnovers despite Auburn committing 14 turnovers and Tennessee 13.
Josh Langford added nine points in 16 minutes for the Tigers while Kenny Gabriel and Earnest Ross had seven apiece. Rob Chubb, who scored a career-high 18 points in Auburn's win at South Carolina on Saturday, did not play as he was suspended for a violation of team rules.
Auburn shot 43.1 percent from the field, 2-of-13 from 3-point range and only made half of its 20 free throw attempts. Tennessee went 45.1 percent from the floor, 4-of-19 from behind the arc and 19-of-24 from the foul line.
Auburn has a quick turnaround as it plays at Georgia on Saturday at 12:47 pm Central. The game will be televised by the SEC Network.