AUBURN, Ala. — The Auburn University men’s basketball players gathered on the court and vowed not to let this game slip away.
Frankie Sullivan scored 16 points and Kenny Gabriel added 15 points and nine rebounds to help Auburn hold off a Mississippi State Univerity comeback attempt in a 65-55 victory on Saturday night.
Gabriel also hit a basket and free throw with 3 minutes, 13 seconds to play and most of the Tigers’ double-digit lead gone. The five players on the court convened a second huddle during the subsequent timeout.
“We just said that we weren’t going to lose this game because we had lost too many games in the last three minutes,” Gabriel said. “I made the free throw, and we were real confident with the stops and fouls, and we did it.”
The Tigers (14-12, 4-8 Southeastern Conference) snapped a three-game losing streak. The Bulldogs (19-8, 6-6) have lost three in a row, including a pair of two-point overtime defeats, and cut an 11-point halftime deficit down to three before getting turned back by Auburn.
“No matter what takes place, you have to keep fighting,” Auburn coach Tony Barbee said. “They made a run and we weren’t making shots, but we continued to fight. It doesn’t guarantee a win, but if you don’t fight it is probably going to guarantee that you lose.”
Varez Ward added 10 points and nine assists for the Tigers, who shot 47.2 percent (25 of 53) while holding MSU to 35.2 percent (19 of 54).
Arnett Moultrie — who spent two seasons under Barbee at UTEP — had 16 points and 11 rebounds but was 6-of-15 shooting.
Dee Bost added 11 points for the Bulldogs, who made five 3-pointers in 22 attempts.
The Bulldogs played without starting forward Renardo Sidney, who sat out with back spasms. In his absence, the Tigers scored on plentiful drives and outrebounded the Bulldogs 36-31.
MSU coach Rick Stansbury said he found out Sidney wouldn’t be available Saturday morning.
“We make no excuses,” Stansbury said. “We had a game to play with the team we lined up with. We felt good with what we lined up and fought with.”
Rodney Hood scored nine points but made just 1 of 8 from 3-point range.
“I’d line Rodney back up and shoot the same shots again,” Stansbury said. “I don’t think there was one shot that he took that I’d say was a bad 3-point shot. He had good wide-open looks.”
MSU opened the second half on a 9-3 run to cut into an 11-point halftime deficit. The Bulldogs eventually whittled it down to 53-50 on a pair of free throws by Moultrie with 5:01 left.
Then Sidney’s replacement, Wendell Lewis, missed a pair of free throws and Bost couldn’t sink a potential tying 3-pointer.
Rob Chubb rebounded Gabriel’s missed shot and passed it back to the streaking forward, who drove for a basket and a foul, then hit the free throw to push it to 56-50.
“It got us rolling because the last couple of games we have been in, the last three minutes have really cost us games,” Gabriel said.
The Bulldogs didn’t make another field goal until the Tigers had put the game out of reach.
Auburn, the SEC’s 11th-best foul shooting team, made 7 of 9 free throws over the final 1:15 to avoid giving MSU an opening. They’ve won four in a row at home against the Bulldogs, whose NCAA tournament hopes absorbed another hit.
Next up for Mississippi State: No. 1 Kentucky Tuesday night.
“You’ve got the best team in the country coming to your place,” Stansbury said. “That’s all that matters. That’s an opportunity for us, that’s all it is.”
The pace was more to Auburn’s liking than in a 91-88 loss to MSU two weeks ago.
Auburn’s biggest run came in the first half to give it the lead for good.
The Tigers scored 16 straight points en route to a 21-4 spurt that turned a seven-point deficit into a 30-20 lead late in the first half. MSU went 6:05 without scoring.
The Bulldogs blew a chance to close the gap. Mississippi State missed three straight baskets inside on their final possession and Stansbury drew a technical after no foul was called.
Sullivan hit 1 of 2 resulting free throws with 10 seconds left and Ward drove for a layup and a 35-24 halftime lead at the buzzer.
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