AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn never trailed Wednesday night. When Alabama tied the game in the final minute to force overtime, the Tigers didn't panic. They scored the first eight points in the extra period and made enough plays down the stretch to pull out a 95-91 victory.
It was almost like this Auburn team has been in that spot before.
Maybe it's because they have. This was the fourth overtime game in the last five games for the Tigers, and with Wednesday's victory, they are now 4-0 in those games and 5-0 on the season when the game goes beyond 40 minutes.
It was also the seventh straight win for No. 11 Auburn (22-2, 9-2) who avenged an earlier loss at Alabama, one of only two losses on the season, and moved back into first place in the SEC standings.
"Typically, when you play Alabama, it's all about the rivalry," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "It's all about Auburn and Alabama, it's about the Iron Bowl, it's about two schools in the state that compete. This one wasn't about that. It was about Auburn trying to stay alive in a championship race, and our rival, with an opportunity to really take us out of it by beating us, which would have been twice.
"It was two high-character teams and a pretty memorable game."
No player was more impactful than Auburn senior Austin Wiley. The Alabama native, playing in this rivalry for maybe the last time, finished with a season-high 18 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the floor. He also pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds, one shy of his father Aubrey's career mark at Auburn, and matched his career high with five blocked shots. For Wiley, it was his 10th double-double of the season.
"In our family we have to beat Alabama," he said. "It's special to be able to do that my senior year."
Wiley's biggest bucket of the night came in the final minute of overtime when he threw down a two-handed slam to make it a two-possession game and extend the lead to 93-88.
"Austin was dominant," Pearl said. "Austin Wiley represented the Auburn Family very well. He represented his family. He represented that name. He represented his dad. He represented Vickie Orr, his mom, in a pretty strong way. I hope that the great fans from Alabama are just happy that he's not coming back next year and that they don't have to see Austin Wiley anymore."
Led by Wiley, the Tigers dominated inside with a 60-44 advantage on the glass.
Auburn also started red-hot Wednesday, jumping out to a 16-0 lead in the first four minutes. Senior Anfernee McLemore, starting just his third game this season, knocked down two early 3-pointers and scored the game's first eight points. He finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Alabama used the 3-point shot to battle back and cut Auburn's lead to three (44-41) at the half. The Crimson Tide made an SEC record 22 shots from beyond the arc for the game.
Auburn freshman Isaac Okoro started to take over in the second half and had a team-high 19 points before going down with an injury at the 1:44 mark in regulation. The crowd chanted his name as he was helped off the court, and though he would not return, he finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, two steals and a block.
In the overtime, Samir Doughty picked up the slack for the Tigers, scoring four of the team's first six points. Between Doughty, Wiley and J'Von McCormick, seniors scored all 14 of Auburn's points in the extra five minutes.
"That's not something that we were concerned about," Doughty said. "It's whoever has the hot hand. We have a few play calls early. I was able to score and get to the rim, and that's what that was. It wasn't senior-oriented. It was whoever was hot."
Doughty poured in 18 points in all and added seven rebounds. It was his seventh straight game in double figures and 19th game in double figures this season. Over his last six games, he's averaging 20.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
Freshman Devan Cambridge, coming off a 21-point effort Saturday, chipped in 10 points against Alabama to make it five Tigers in double figures on the night.
After back-to-back wins at home, Auburn will now go back on the road with a trip to Missouri on Saturday. The game is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2.