TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – K.D. Johnson led four Tigers in double figures and Auburn led most of the way before falling to No. 2 Alabama 90-85 in overtime Wednesday at Coleman Coliseum.
"To come in and play the best team in the country, play so well and play so hard," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "We are a proud program. We have great respect for Alabama. We congratulate them on winning the championship, they're a very worthy champion but we came here to win a basketball game."
Auburn ended the game with its starting frontcourt on the bench with five fouls. Johni Broome fouled out with 7:31 to play, and Jaylin Williams and Allen Flanigan both fouled out in OT.
"Incredibly outnumbered at the end," Pearl said. "Alabama did a great job of getting downhill."
Auburn led throughout until two Alabama free throws gave the home team a 75-73 lead with 1:37 to play. Flanigan rebounded a missed Alabama 3-pointer and made a layup on an assist from Wendell Green Jr. to tie the score at 75-75 with 55 seconds remaining.
After an Alabama turnover, Auburn had a chance to win in regulation but Green's 15-footer bounced off the rim with five seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.
"He got a pretty clean look," Pearl said. "If it goes in, were celebrating."
Alabama scored the first five points in OT before Flanigan and Johnson hit 3-pointers to twice pull the Tigers within two points.
With Alabama leading by four, Chris Moore grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a putback to cut the lead to 87-85 with 35 seconds to play.
Alabama made one of two free throws with 22 seconds left to lead by three, then Auburn's shot was blocked with 11 seconds to go and the Crimson Tide hit a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining to secure victory.
Johnson hit 4 of 5 3-pointers and led the Tigers with 21 points, Flanigan scored 17 and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, Williams added 15 and Broome scored 10.
"I thought the bench was terrific," Pearl said, highlighting the play of Johnson, Moore and Tre Donaldson. "K.D. is an athlete who is hard to stay in front of. He did a good job driving downhill."
Auburn led 40-33 at the half but Alabama made three consecutive 3-pointers to open the second half, tying the score at 42-42 before Flanigan hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Tigers ahead by six.
Broome scored six points in an 8-0 run that put the Tigers on top 56-44, then Johnson hit a 3-pointer in a 6-0 run that gave Auburn a 62-46 lead.
Auburn led by 17 and had the ball midway through the second half but the Tigers committed five turnovers and Alabama made five consecutive shots in a 16-0 run to pull within one point with 4:57 to play.
Williams opened the game with a 3-pointer then added a corner 3 to give Auburn an early 6-2 lead before heading to the bench with two fouls at the 16:53 mark.
After sitting for a few minutes, Williams returned, made a steal and assisted Johnson for a transition 3-pointer that put the Tigers ahead 15-9 with 11:33 to play.
Auburn used a 7-0 run to take a nine-point lead on Williams' floater, Johnson's 3-pointer and Donaldson's jumper from the free-throw line, forcing an Alabama timeout with 7:25 to play in the half.
The Tigers extended their lead to 10 on Flanigan's turnaround jumper and led by 12 after a pair of Green free throws with 2:40 to play in the half.
Brandon Miller scored six straight points to cut Auburn's lead in half but Lior Berman answered with a corner 3-pointer with 19 seconds left in the half before Alabama's Mark Sears made a layup at the buzzer.
Auburn shot 75 percent from 3-point range in the half, making 6 of 8 attempts while outrebounding Alabama 17-14 in the half. The Tigers were 12-for-20 on 3-pointers in the game, including 2 of 3 in overtime.
"Our guys have been through a lot," Pearl said. "I'm really proud of our guys. We should be confident. Our guys have paid the price. The most important thing is to not lose our confidence."
The Tigers (19-11, 9-8) conclude the regular season Saturday at Neville Arena hosting No. 12 Tennessee at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN and the Auburn Sports Network.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
