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A spirit that is not afraid

Auburn squeaks by Charleston, advances to Round of 32

“Auburn turned them over 21 times. What does that tell you about the effort and energy by our kids? We were struggling offensively, and we found a way.”

When a program hasn’t played a game on the sport’s biggest stage in 15 years, there’s going to be some nerves at the outset.

Fourth-seeded Auburn couldn’t shake those nerves in the opening half of its first-round matchup vs. No. 13 College of Charleston. The Tigers missed every 3-point attempt in the first 20 minutes (0-for-13) en route to a 25-25 halftime tie.

The shots weren’t falling, so Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl turned to his quick hands on defense.

The Tigers stymied Charleston to the tune of 21 turnovers, most of the season for the Cougars, on their way to a 62-58 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“Auburn turned them over 21 times. What does that tell you about the effort and energy by our kids?” Pearl said. “We were struggling offensively, and we found a way.”

Auburn point guard Jared Harper, who is so crucial to the flow of the Tigers offense that he is constantly referred to as the “little general” by Charles Barkley, left an already-slim Auburn lineup even thinner after picking up two fouls in the first minute of play.

Harper’s absence forced true freshman Davion Mitchell to take the reigns for most of the first half. Mitchell did his job, playing 20 minutes with 4 points, a pair of assists and zero turnovers.

Despite shooting only 28 percent in the first half and 36 percent for the game, the Tigers didn’t waver from their normal offensive sets. Desean Murray (11 points, 7 rebounds) remained an early-and-often weapon down low, and the guards kept chucking up triples. They just weren’t falling.

“This was definitely one of the worst of the year,” Auburn guard Mustapha Heron said of the team’s performance on offense. “But it’s good to survive and advance. We got stuff we can go look at as far and film goes and get ready to go and play hard on Sunday.”

For all the struggles getting the ball into the basket, Heron wasn’t fazed. The sophomore was the lone spark of consistency for Auburn’s offense, leading the orange and blue with 16 points and 5 boards.

His shooting guard Bryce Brown couldn’t say the same, however. Brown’s stroke hasn’t been the same since his shoulder injury suffered midseason vs. Texas A&M, and the junior’s struggles continued Friday, finishing 3-for-11 from the floor, all 3-pointers.

Still, despite an 0-for-6 start, Brown made sure to embody the tried-and-true scorer’s motto of “shooters shoot.”

With just over two minutes remaining in the game, Brown sized up, then elevated for his third 3-pointer of the night, giving Auburn a one-point lead at 56-55.

The triple was the fourth of the for Auburn, and at the time it was the most crucial for the Tigers.

Then came the fifth.

Harper, who had just a single point with 1:17 left in the ballgame, nailed Auburn’s biggest bucket of the season at the aforementioned score, putting the Tigers in the lead for good.

“We put him in a ball screen and tried to get him advantage, and they went under the screen,” Pearl said of Harper’s last shot. “He’s almost conditioned by nature to look for his shot.”

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The teams fouled back and forth before reaching a 61-58 Auburn advantage with 20 seconds left. Mitchell missed both at the line, where the Tigers finished an abysmal 15-of-32, and Charleston had a chance to tie.

The Cougars’ Riller let fly a triple from the right wing, defended by Brown. Riller air-balled, and Auburn clinched its first NCAA Tournament win since 2003.

But it didn’t come without controversy.

Upon replay, it appeared as if Brown might have hit Riller’s arm on the way down. The Tigers reiterated that they’re only looking ahead to the Round of 32 now.

“You saw what happened,” Heron said of the final shot. “(Brown) forced an airball and I think he got a hand on it. Bryce is one of the best guards in the SEC defensively, so game over.”

Charleston, champions of the Colonial Athletic Conference, finish at 26-8. The Cougars were paced by forward Jarrell Brantley, who found himself dueling Heron late in the game for best offensive player. Brantley scored 24 points and corralled 7 rebounds.

The Tigers move on to the Round of 32 and will play No. 5 seed Clemson at 6:10 p.m. CST on TBS.


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