AUBURN, Ala. - Bryce Brown raced toward the student section, climbing the table to celebrate Auburn's 84-80 Senior Day win Saturday over No. 5 Tennessee.
"That was something I planned to do," said Brown, who then ascended several rows to share hugs with his mother and aunt. "I wanted to share the moment with the fans. I wanted to share the moment with my parents. A great feeling knocking off a top 5 team on my last game."
Brown started Auburn's second-half comeback by grabbing a defensive rebound and making a 3-pointer at the other end, the start of a 7-0 run that gave Auburn a 42-41 lead.
Tennessee regained control, taking a seven-point lead before Chuma Okeke hit a 3-pointer then a made a steal and slam that pulled Auburn within two at 50-48, generating massive crowd noise from the 9,121 fans in Auburn Arena.
"I know my teammates have a lot of confidence in me," said Okeke, who finished with 22 points, five rebounds and four steals. "The coaching staff has a lot of trust in me, too, to make plays."
"He took over the game at times against player of the year type people," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "And none of us were surprised."
Jared Harper hit back-to-back 3-pointers, his first two of the game, to put Auburn up 75-69 with 2:46 remaining.
"I'm going to make shots eventually," said Harper, who scored 16 points and handed out eight assists. "I have the confidence from my coaches and teammates, so that helps me in the moment."
After Tennessee answered with a 3, the Volunteers blocked an Auburn layup into the waiting hands of Samir Doughty, who drained a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to put Auburn up 78-72 with 1:13 to play.
"The ball just so happened to find me, and I just hit a shot," said Doughty, who scored nine points and added four rebounds. "Something I work on every day. Just a normal shot to me, though."
Tennessee pulled within two, but Harper made all four three throws in the final 31 seconds and Okeke made a steal to secure Auburn's biggest win of the season.
"Great win for our program," Pearl said. "Can't thank our fan base and our students enough. They were treated to something special. I'm very grateful for the support. We don't win without the building being like it is."
Auburn trailed 41-35 at the half. Okeke led all scorers with 13 points in the half. The Tigers trailed by 11 with 5:56 remaining before rallying.
Harper's coast-to-coast drive pulled Auburn within four with 40 seconds to go, but Tennessee made a pair of free throws and Auburn missed a 3 in the final seconds of the half.
Jordan Bowden and Grant Williams combined for 22 first-half points on 9 of 12 shooting. The Vols outrebounded the Tigers 20-12 in the half but Auburn's 11-3 assist-to-turnover ratio helped the Tigers keep it close.
Auburn committed only five turnovers, a season low. Brown joined Okeke and Harper in double figures with 16 points. Williams scored a game-high 25, adding nine rebounds.
The Tigers (22-9, 11-7) clinched the No. 5 seed in next week's SEC Tournament in Nashville. Auburn will play Thursday at approximately 2:30 p.m. CT against the winner of Wednesday's Georgia-Missouri game. Should the Tigers win, Auburn would play No. 4 seed South Carolina in Friday's second game.
Auburn honored seniors Horace Spencer, Brown, Malik Dunbar and Cole Blackstock before tip-off.
"Very proud of our seniors for how far they've come and how much they worked to become competitive," Pearl said. "Everybody in the country recognizes that Tennessee's a Final Four team. Everybody in the country now recognizes that Auburn is capable of beating, and in fact did beat, a Final Four team."