The Auburn Tiger Men's Basketball Team fell to the Mississippi State Bulldogs 91-88 on Saturday afternoon. Auburn drops to 13-10 overall and 3-6 in conference play.
"To come into this environment against a very good defensive team and put up 88 points is pretty good," said Auburn coach Tony Barbee. "Hopefully, we can keep that offensive momentum going."
The Bulldogs claimed victory over the Tiger's by shooting 60.4 percent from the floor and 12 of 19 made three-pointers. Bulldog's junior forwards Arnett Moultrie and Renardo Sidney teamed for 38 total points tonight.
Auburn sophomore guard Varez Ward and senior guard Kenny Gabriel fared equally well on the night. The two Auburn guards combined for 46 points on the contest.
Auburn led at halftime 44-43 but the Bulldogs were bolstered on by three three-point baskets within the first three minuets of the second half.
Auburn cut the Bulldog lead to 87-82 late in the contest. Free throws hurt Auburn as they made 7 of 10 from the line on the night. Three missed free throws were the margin of victory for the Bulldogs.
"It was a tough game," Ward said. "It is hard to when you score 88 points and come up short. If we had come out and guarded better, we would have ended up winning. It is hard to win on the road when a team shoots 60 percent. If we had guarded like we usually guarded, we could have stolen this one."
Auburn heads back home to face Alabama Tuesday. Tipoff will be at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNU. Alabama holds a record 14-7 overall and 3-4 conference record. The two teams have played a total of 143 times with Alabama winning 87 to Auburn's 56. Auburn will look to give Barbee his first victory against Alabama during his tenure at Auburn.
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