The Auburn Tigers squared off in a rematch with the No. 23 Mississippi Bulldogs Saturday night in Auburn Arena and came away with a 65-55 win to redeem a three-point loss to the Bulldogs earlier this month.
"A week off came at a great time for us," said Auburn coach Tony Barbee. "Mentally everybody got refreshed. All I have been talking about with this team is continuing to fight. We continued to fight. It doesn't guarantee you a win, but if you don't fight it is probably going to guarantee that you lose."
Auburn improves to 14-12 overall and 4-8 in the SEC with the win, while Mississippi State falls to 19-8 and 6-6 in the conference.
Auburn withstood an early Bulldog run and fought back with big plays from senior guard Kenny Gabriel and junior guard Frankie Sullivan. The two combined for 18 of the Tigers' 35 first-half points.
Sullivan led the way for the Tigers with 16 total points, followed by Gabriel's 15. As a team the Tigers shot 47 percent from the field and 78 percent from the free throw line.
The Bulldogs were led by Arnett Moultrie, who finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Mississippi State shot 35 percent from the floor and 70 percent from the free throw line.
One key sequence occurred with six minutes remaining in the first half. Gabriel snatched an errant Bulldogs pass out of the air and dished the ball to sophomore guard Varez Ward, who found Gabriel under the basket on the fast break for a slam. Auburn went on a 26-8 scoring run in the last nine minutes of the first half to take a 35-24 lead into the locker room.
With Auburn leading 53-50 in the second half, junior center Rob Chubb pulled down an offensive rebound and found Gabriel, who stretched around a defender for the layup and the foul. Gabriel converted the free throw to put Auburn ahead by six with 3:13 left.
"It hit off the rim and I saw Chubb get the rebound, and when he passed it to me I was trying to be aggressive and I got the and one," Gabriel said. "The last couple games ... the last three minutes has cost us the game. We had a huddle on the court and said we are not going to lose this game in the last three minutes. I made the free throw, we made some stops and we did it."
With 1:45 left, Sullivan flipped the ball in the basket to put Auburn up 58-52. Auburn then converted on seven of eight free throws to secure the win. It was Auburn's first victory against a ranked team since March 7, 2009, when the Tigers defeated LSU 69-53. Barbee commended Chubb, who had seven rebounds and four points on the night.
"He didn't have a great game, but we have to keep fighting down the stretch," Barbee said. "It's a life lesson because things aren't always going to go your way, but you have to continue to fight. I thought Rob did that when he didn't have his greatest game." Sullivan was recognized before the game for eclipsing the 1,000-point mark while at Auburn.
Auburn will travel to Gainesville Feb. 21 to play the No. 14 Florida Gators. Tip-off will be at 6 p.m.
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