Feb. 24, 2018
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Despite a team-high 22 points from Mustapha Heron, No. 12 Auburn dropped a 72-66 decision at Florida on Saturday night. The Tigers (24-5, 12-4) battled back time and time again and even took the lead late at one point in the second half, but Florida scored the game's final six points to put the game away.
"We've been winning a lot of different ways, but one of the ways is that we force turnovers," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said after the game. "Florida leads the league not turning the ball over, and they did a great job tonight only turning it over eight times.
"Offensively, we turned the ball over a lot. We didn't play very well. Give Florida a lot of credit."
The Gators jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first three minutes, and it was an uphill climb from that point on. A tip-in by Horace Spencer knotted the game back up at 15, but Florida closed the half on an 18-9 run capped by a nearly full-court heave at the buzzer by KeVaughn Allen, who finished with a game-high 24 points. Auburn trailed, 33-24, at the break.
"It's tough, but I think that's a hole that we dug ourselves in," Heron said. "We can't do things like that, especially on the road. It's a lot harder on the road to come back with the crowd against you and different factors against you. I think we dug ourselves in that hole, and that's something we've got to go back and look at the film and work on."
Beginning with Heron's 3-point shot to open the second half, Auburn began chipping away at the deficit and worked its way back in the game. It was Heron, who connected from long range again, to give the Tigers a 57-56 lead - their first of the game - with four minutes left.
Though Heron, who finished 8 of 11 from the floor, led the way with his 22 points, Chuma Okeke (12) and Desean Murray (10) both scored in double figures as well for Auburn. Okeke also pulled down 10 rebounds and recorded his second straight double-double off the bench.
Spencer got the start again in place of the injured Anfernee McLemore and contributed six points and eight rebounds while fellow junior Bryce Brown led the team with five assists.
Auburn remains one game ahead of Tennessee in the SEC standings and can still clinch a share of the regular-season conference title when they travel to Arkansas on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT on the Auburn Sports Network and SEC Network.
"We have to go back and look at the film, get better and get ready for Tuesday," Heron said. "It's a short turnaround, so (we have to) get ready for Tuesday."
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf