STARKVILLE, Miss. – No. 8 Auburn came up short at Mississippi State on Saturday in what was a physical, back-and-forth battle between two of the SEC's top defensive teams.
The final score, 64-58, was the largest lead by either team all game.
"It was as physical as we thought," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "They're a really athletic team. Obviously, they played really good defensively. But we didn't play well. We didn't execute very well. Give Mississippi State credit. They did a great job."
Auburn cut the deficit to one in the final minutes when Aden Holloway threw a crosscourt pass to Denver Jones who buried a 3-pointer in the corner. But Mississippi State's Josh Hubbard answered with a 3 of his own to put the Bulldogs back up four. Hubbard led all scorers with 17 points.
Johni Broome finished with a team-high 14 points for Auburn and did all of his scoring in the second half. The junior big man began the half with two quick buckets inside. He later drained his only 3-point attempt to keep the Tigers within one (40-41). He finished 5-of-7 from the floor and added seven rebounds, three blocks and two assists.
It was the 11th consecutive game in double figures for Broome who was just as impressive on the defensive end, helping limit Mississippi State star Tolu Smith to nine points.
"Tolu Smith had nine points," Pearl said. "What kind of a job did Johni Broome do in there? Yeoman's work. He played great defense. He played hard.
"They double in the post, so it was hard to get him touches on the inside. I'm sure he was a little frustrated. He had some great baskets and some great plays himself on the inside. We probably could have done a better job of getting it to him."
Fellow big man Jaylin Williams also scored in double figures for the Tigers with 10 points. It was his 54th career game in double figures and his 12th this season.
Jones' late 3-pointer was one of two he knocked down in the second half. Both he and Chaney Johnson chipped in eight points off the bench. For Johnson, it was a career high in SEC play. The UAH transfer was 3 of 4 from the field and scored six of his eight points in the first half, including a monster two-hand slam.
Defensively, Auburn held Mississippi State to 24 percent shooting from beyond the arc (5-of-21) and a season-low 21 first-half points. The game was tied 21-21 at the half.
Tre Donaldson and K.D. Johnson both earned the start in Saturday's game. For Donaldson, it was his fourth career start and his first career SEC start. The sophomore point guard finished with six points, three rebounds and two assists, and gave the Tigers the lead midway through the second half with a steal and an and-one on the other end.
Coming off a loss at Alabama on Wednesday, this marks the first time this season the Tigers have lost back-to-back games. It was their first two setbacks in league play.
"We'll see how we bounce back," Pearl said. "Both teams are going to be NCAA Tournament teams. They're both Quad 1 teams. We've lost to the best teams on our schedule.
"There's something to be said for beating the people you're supposed to beat, and we've done that. Not many people are going to come in here and beat Mississippi State. We'd like to think that we had a shot at it, but we didn't get enough step up. You have to step up and be able to make plays."
After back-to-back road games, Auburn (16-4, 5-2) will return home next week to face Vanderbilt in Neville Arena. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday.
MISSISSIPPI STATE POSTGAME NOTES
» Mississippi State now leads 44-28 in games played against Auburn in Starkville including 29-15 at Humphrey Coliseum. The loss snaps the Tigers' five-game winning streak in the series. It was AU's first loss in its last three games in Starkville.
» Tre Donaldson made his fourth career start and his first since the Alabama A&M game on Nov. 21. It marked the first SEC start of his career.
» K.D. Johnson made his first start since the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament against Miami (Fla.) and the 32nd of his career. Chris Moore, Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome joined Donaldson and Johnson as starters. Moore and Williams remain the only Tigers to start every game this season.
» Saturday's game was tied 21-all at halftime. It was the first time this season the Tigers have been tied at the half.
» Auburn made 14-of-16 from the free-throw line including 9-of-10 in the second half of play. The Tigers are shooting 81.5 percent from the foul line over the last 13 games.
» Auburn held Mississippi State to a season-low 21 first-half points. The Bulldogs' previous low was 26 points at Georgia Tech.
» Auburn held the Bulldogs to 5-of-21 shooting from 3-point range. It was the ninth time the Tigers have held an opponent to under 30 percent shooting from long range this season including five times in seven SEC games.
» Auburn blocked six shots on the afternoon. It was the Tigers' 12th straight game with five-plus blocks, which is their longest streak with five or more blocks since a 17-game stretch during the 2021-22 season.
» Auburn placed two players in double figures including Johni Broome with 14 points and Jaylin Williams with 10 points. Broome was 5-of-7 from the floor, 1-of-1 from 3-point range and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line on Saturday. He added seven rebounds, three blocks, two assists and one steal. It was his 11th consecutive game in double figures during which he is averaging 16.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per contest. It was Broome's eighth game this season with three-or-more blocked shots including back-to-back games after blocking five shots at Alabama on Wednesday night.
» Williams was 3-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the free throw line on Saturday. He finished with five rebounds, a team-high three assists and one steal. It was his 54th career game in double figures and his 12th this season including five in SEC play.
» Chaney Johnson scored an SEC season-high eight points on Saturday. Johnson was 3-of-4 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line at Mississippi State. He added two rebounds and one block on the afternoon.
