Down one point with seven seconds left on the clock, T.J. Dunans inbounded the ball to TJ Lang. With the ball in his hands, Lang passed it to a curling Jared Harper who had a clean look at the basket, and a chance to be a hero from behind the arc.
Harper had made plenty of shots like it in previous games, but on Wednesday night in Athens, Georgia, the shot didn't fall for the freshman point guard.
The Tigers walked off the floor of Stegeman Coliseum on the short end of a 79-78 ballgame.
"We got a clean look," Pearl said. "Jared coming off that (screen) was clean as a whistle."
Auburn played well enough to win, and led throughout the first half. The Tigers were brilliant before the break, and led by as much as 16. Bryce Brown led the way for the Tigers, scoring 15 points off of 5-7 shooting from behind the arc.
"We played a very good game," Pearl said. "We just came up short."
But, like Auburn's meeting with the Bulldogs in December, JJ Frazier was too much for Pearls squad to handle. The senior point guard who is currently having the best stretch of his career, was all Georgia needed on Wednesday. Frazier ended the night with 31 points, and played all but two minutes of the contest.
With the loss, Auburn has finished 11th in the SEC, which means Auburn will be forced to play in the first night of the SEC Tournament next week. The Tigers will match up with either Missouri or LSU in the first round of the SEC Tournament next Wednesday.
Before the conference tournament begins, Auburn will play its last regular season game in Auburn Arena versus Missouri. Saturday's tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. CST, and the action can be seen on the SEC Network.
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