MORGANTOWN, W.V. – No. 15 Auburn never quit Saturday. The Tigers rallied in the second half, cutting a 16-point halftime deficit down to one, but Erik Stevenson and West Virginia made enough plays late to win 80-77 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Twice in the final minutes, Auburn pulled within one. Both times Stevenson knocked down a 3-pointer. The West Virginia senior finished with a game-high 31 points.
"Disappointing loss," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "We worked pretty hard to battle back in the second half, but the last four minutes we didn't get the defensive stops that we had gotten throughout the second half.
"I'm proud of the kids for playing hard. Tough environment. They obviously trusted each other. I thought the togetherness on the bench was the best we've had all year. Guys were really rooting hard for each other. In some ways, we made progress. We had won our last three road games. That one had a chance to be four in a row."
For Auburn, senior Jaylin Williams led the charge with 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting. Williams made a 3 with 32 seconds left to make it a one-possession game, and then after a steal from K.D. Johnson, he had a chance to tie it with another trey but failed to convert. It was the fifth time in the last six games Williams has scored in double figures.
Johnson and Johni Broome both played a major part in the second-half comeback. Johnson scored 9 of his 10 points after halftime and had three steals. Midway through the second half, he swiped the ball and raced down for an easy lay-up to jumpstart a 7-0 Auburn run.
"I'm pleased that K.D. played better," Pearl said. "He's been patient, trying not to turn it over, trying not to do too much. It was good to have that impact."
All 15 of Broome's points came in the second half. West Virginia had no answer for the sophomore big man who made shots with both hands and was 7 of 9 from the field over the final 20 minutes. He also finished with team highs in rebounds (7) and assists (5).
"He did a great job inside," Pearl said. "Five assists, one turnover. He's really good in there. We just have to keep getting him touches. Him being in foul trouble in the first half was an issue. But he's done really well. He's been one of our most consistent players."
As a team, Auburn scored 48 points in the second half. The Tigers shot 18 of 32 from the field, 8 of 10 from the charity stripe and had 10 assists to just four turnovers.
It was another slow start for Auburn who fell behind early and trailed 45-29 at halftime.
Senior Allen Flanigan scored 10 of Auburn's 29 points in the first half and made it four Tigers in double figures with 13 points on the day. Flanigan made his fifth start in a row and has now scored eight or more points in each of his last eight games.
Between Johnson's 10 points and 7 from freshman point guard Tre Donaldson, it was a productive day for Auburn's bench. Lior Berman added a 3-pointer while Dylan Cardwell provided good minutes in the first half with Broome out.
"We got a little bit more help from our bench tonight," Pearl said.
With the loss, Auburn falls to 4-4 all-time in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
The Tigers (16-5, 6-2) will resume conference play next week with a rematch against Georgia on Wednesday in Neville Arena. The game is set to tip off at 6 p.m. CT. WEST VIRGINIA POSTGAME NOTES>> For the fifth-consecutive contest, Auburn used the same starting five of Wendell Green Jr., Zep Jasper, Allen Flanigan, Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome (3-2).
>> West Virginia now leads, 3-2, in the all-time series with Auburn. This was just the second-ever trip to Morgantown for Auburn – the first since 1984.
>> Jaylin Williams shot 7-of-11 from the field to finish the afternoon with a team-high 18 points at West Virginia. It was his fifth double-figure game in the last six contests.
>> Allen Flanigan reached double figures in the first half with 10 of his 13 points at West Virginia. It marked his eighth double-digit game this season and 35th of his career.
>> The Tigers battled back from a 16-point halftime deficit to cut it down to three points at the end of regulation, shooting 56.3 percent in the second half.
>> Johni Broome extended his double-digit scoring streak to three games with 15 points, seven rebounds and a career-high tying five assists at West Virginia.
>> K.D. Johnson came alive in the second half and registered double figures for the first time since the Memphis game with 10 points at West Virginia. He also made three of the team's seven steals in the ballgame.
>> Auburn scored 42 of its 77 points in the paint at West Virginia. The Tigers also outrebounded the Mountaineers, 31-30, including nine on the offensive end.
>> Tre Donaldson tallied seven points in 10 minutes of action off the bench at West Virginia. His most points since AU's road game at USC (12 points) on Dec. 18.