Auburn Basketball Stays Hot With Win Over Rival Alabama
Auburn basketball (9-8, 3-3) continues its streak of big wins as they took down their rival, the Alabama Crimson Tide (10-7, 1-4), on Tuesday night 83-77 following up a win over Kentucky on Saturday.
Cinmeon Bowers had a monster game scoring 20 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. Kareem Canty did his thing as usual putting up 25 points, while Tyler Harris added 14. TJ Lang was the only other Auburn player to finish with double-digits points with 11.
The Tigers started the game on a 10-2 run, but Alabama responded and took an 11-10 lead at the 14:23 mark. Auburn retook the lead, but at the 12 minute mark it was all tied up at 14.
Then the Crimson Tide went on a 10-0 run heading into the under eight timeout and things looked gloomy for the Tigers, but Auburn responded with an 11-0 run of their own, capped off by a Canty three-pointer, to give Auburn the lead again at the 6:49 mark.
The game went back-and-forth for a little while and was tied at 30 at the 5:07 mark, but then Auburn went on another run, this one a 10-2 run that was also capped by a Canty three-pointer, to take a 40-32 lead. Alabama came right back though and finished the half on a 5-0 run to make it 40-37 at halftime.
Canty led the Tigers with 12 at the break, while Bowers had 10 and Harris had eight. Bowers also had 7 rebounds in the game’s first 20 minutes. Auburn made 10 shots from the field in the first, and seven of them were from beyond the arc. For once they actually made their free throws as well making 13-of-16 from the charity stripe.
At the 16:43 mark in the second half the two rivals were all tied up at 49. Auburn got it going and took a 58-51 lead that forced Avery Johnson to call a timeout. The Crimson Tide continued to make runs at Auburn, but the Tigers always had an answer.
Alabama made it 58-56 at the under 12 timeout, but out of the break Canty hit a three to stretch the lead back out. The Crimson Tide got back within two at the 8:18 mark, but then a Lang three-pointer broke their run.
More from Fly War Eagle
- Ex-star Auburn DL confronts ‘slant man’ in MNF post-game video
- Ex-Auburn star laments not getting to face fellow Heisman candidate
- Analyst expects third-year RB to take AU rushing lead from surprising transfer
- Hugh Freeze was the right hire to truly embrace Auburn
- Auburn football Jack LB: ‘We’ve got to earn our respect back’
Once again Alabama got back within two points, this time at the 5 minute mark 71-69, but Lang was fouled on a three-point shot and hit all three of them to settle things down again.
Then all the Alabama fouls started to catch up with them as Jimmy Taylor and Arthur Edwards both fouled out before the last media timeout with Auburn up 76-73.
That’s as close as Alabama would get down the stretch as the Tigers were able to hold off their in-state rivals on their home court.
The Tigers finished shooting 39 percent from the field and made 11-of-30 three-pointers, but they won the game at the foul line hitting 28-of-40 free throw attempts. They also outrebounded Alabama 42-38, and I don’t know the last time they outrebounded somebody.
Once again The Jungle was electric and helped lift the Auburn basketball team to another win at home, giving life to a team that seemed dead just a week ago.
Auburn basketball will now go back on the road and play Florida on Saturday at 7 p.m. Central. The game will be shown on the SEC Network.