BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Auburn trailed by as many as 14 in the second half and erased a 9-point deficit in the final five minutes, but Texas A&M made a game-winning basket with less than two seconds remaining to prevail, 68-66, on Saturday.
"I'm proud of my kids and the way they battled," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said.
After struggling offensively in the first half, Auburn caught fire in the second half. Led by junior Jamal Johnson, the Tigers connected on 10 of 20 shots from deep and scored 44 points in the final 20 minutes. They shot 17 of 31 (54.8 percent) from the floor in that span and only turned it over five times.
Johnson, who scored a career-high 21 points in Wednesday's loss to Arkansas, finished with a game-high 20 points with 17 of the 20 coming in the second half.
"You can see the advantages of being a junior," Pearl said. "He's been in the program for three years now. He worked so hard in the offseason, but he's got a leadership role on this team. That's a good thing because he's such a great kid. It's just wonderful to see."
The offense got Auburn back into the game, but twice in the final two minutes, the Tigers came up with critical defensive stops that translated to points.
First, it was Devan Cambridge who got a steal, saved the ball from going out of bounds and then made a lay-up on the other end to tie it at 64 with 1:14 left. Then with less than 30 seconds left and the Tigers down two, Jaylin Williams stepped in front of a pass at midcourt and found JT Thor for a two-hand slam, tying the game at 66.
Williams, who assisted on both baskets, finished with a team-high seven assists.
"We've got to continue to find a way to put the ball in Jaylin Williams' hands and let him make plays because he's such a good passer and a versatile player," Pearl said.
Thor scored the first and last points for Auburn and finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Cambridge had nine points and tied for the team lead with six rebounds.
Sophomore Allen Flanigan had three triples in the second half and scored 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting. It was the ninth time in 10 games this season Flanigan has been in double figures scoring. He currently leads the Tigers and is ranked top 10 in the SEC with 14.5 points per game.
Freshman Justin Powell, Auburn's second leading scorer coming in, missed the majority of the second half with a head injury. He will be re-evaluated once the team returns home.
The Tigers trailed 33-22 at the half, and though they couldn't find a rhythm offensively, their effort on the defensive end kept them in the contest. They had nine steals, forced 14 first-half turnovers, and blocked three shots.
"It was an ugly first half, but at least we competed," Pearl said. "Even though we were down 11, offensively we played bad enough to be completely out of the game. But our kids have got better character than that, and they stayed in it. In the second half, we started to be able to move the ball a little bit better and get the ball where we wanted to get it."
Auburn (6-4, 0-2) will stay on the road and travel to Ole Miss on Wednesday. The game is scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. CT and will be televised on SEC Network.
