COLUMBIA, S.C. – For the second straight game, No. 16 Auburn made a furious comeback in the second half to take the lead in the final minute. And for the second straight game, it wasn't enough as the Tigers stumbled on the road at South Carolina on Tuesday, losing 80-77.
"We showed a lot of character, a lot of heart," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "We had a lot of fight to be able to fight back from a couple double-digit deficits."
On Saturday, Auburn was 17 points down in the second half and battled back against Kentucky. This time, it was a 10-point hole with just over six minutes to go. But just like Saturday, the Tigers didn't give up. Even with both Anfernee McLemore and Horace Spencer fouled out of the game, they went on a 12-0 run capped by back-to-back 3s from Bryce Brown and Chuma Okeke and took the lead with four minutes remaining.
From there, the two sides went back and forth. But with Auburn trailing by one and holding for the last shot, Okeke missed a potential game-winning shot from beyond the arc. Then, after an offensive rebound, Danjel Purifoy could not get his putback attempt to go in.
"We had our chances," Pearl said. "This is the league we're in. This is the grind that we have. Right now, we're giving away a lot of size and it's affecting us."
With Austin Wiley still out due to injury, the Tigers had no answers for South Carolina inside as big man Chris Silva finished with 32 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots.
For Auburn, it was the backcourt duo of Brown Jared Harper who once again led the way with 17 points apiece.
Harper also added five assists and four rebounds, and knocked down two clutch free throws with just under a minute to go to give the Tigers a 77-75 lead. However, South Carolina's Felipe Haase knocked down a 3-point shot on the next possession to put the Gamecocks in front.
Brown was held without a point for the first 12 minutes of the first half, but he found his groove and scored 10 points in the final eight minutes to help Auburn go on an 18-7 run and take a 38-37 lead into the intermission. The senior guard is now averaging 20.5 points per game over his last six games.
Okeke was third on the team with 13 points and also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
It doesn't get any easier for the Tigers, who are back on the road this Saturday against a Mississippi State team that is ranked No. 22 and has only lost one game at home all season.
"That's just the league," Pearl said. "That's just the SEC. We have four out of our first six on the road and one of our homes games against Kentucky. That's a pretty tough way to start the league. So it's going to be a grind. And yes, you have to keep your locker room and you have to be able to fight through some adversity."
Saturday's game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT and be televised on SEC Network.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf
No. 16 Auburn drops another heartbreaker at South Carolina
