Fans stood with bated breath as Auburn Men's basketball edged out the Niagara Purple Eagles in a season-opening win during the final seconds of Friday night's game at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.
Senior leader and guard DeWayne Reed lived up to his title as he completed a layup and free throw with 12.5 seconds left in the second half, securing a 69-65 win for the Tigers.
"I was just hungry, ready to win," Reed said. "I was ready to win the whole game."
Reed said he was picking up slack for senior guard Tay Waller, who sat out of the entire game because of a sore quad muscle.
Reed scored a career-high 24 points, making him the only player to score in the double digits besides sophomore guard Frankie Sullivan, who finished with 10 points.
Sixteen lead changes and 12 tied scores proved both teams were fighting for every point until the end.
"Niagara, as you can see, is very worthy of the hype they have," said head coach Jeff Lebo, who spoke highly of the Purple Eagles in press conferences this week. "They're unique."
Niagara is a top-tier Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference team. The team averaged 26 wins last season, became the MAAC's runners-up and advanced to the NIT.
"They were a very difficult team to play against," Lebo said.
The Tigers went into halftime tied 33-33 with Niagara.
"It was hard to play our two big guys together because they (Niagara) were so small," Lebo said. "They're very quick."
Lebo was not too pleased with senior forward Lucas Hargrove's performance Friday night.
Hargrove was hindered with two fouls the first half and able to score only 5 points the entire game.
"He tried to impress a little bit," Lebo said. "He tried to do things that were out of his character."
After being benched at the end of the first half, Hargrove came back with two defensive stands in the last few minutes.
Auburn had been down for eight minutes with no field goals when Reed regained the lead in the final 52 seconds with a slam dunk off a steal.
Almost all the freshmen saw playing time, with Andre Malone scoring 8 points and Earnest Ross coming close with 6 points.
"We played some freshmen out there major minutes," Lebo said.
With four returning starters and a starting lineup of all seniors, Niagara could be Auburn's most challenging non-conference opponent this season.
"It was a great win for our team," Lebo said. "I'm proud of the way we competed."
This was the Tigers' final season opener at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.
According to the Birmingham News, Auburn could play its opening game in the new basketball arena next season against the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Although nothing is set in stone, an Auburn source confirmed Friday morning that the schools are talking.
It is highly possible the matchup will be secured, as Lebo is a former Tar Heel himself, having played for the legendary Dean Smith during his time at North Carolina.
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