The Auburn men's basketball team lost its 15th consecutive Southeastern Conference game Wednesday as the Tigers fell 82-74 to the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville, Miss.
Auburn (8-8, 0-5 SEC) was able to cut the Bulldogs' lead to four multiple times with under a minute to play, but Mississippi State (13-5, 3-2 SEC) hit seven of its final eight free throws to close out the game.
Auburn's starters combined to score all 74 of the Tigers' points in the game, with the bench combining to shoot 0-of-3 from the field and contributing just two rebounds.
Freshman point guard Tahj Shamsid-Deen scored a career high 17 points and contributed two assists while junior guard KT Harrell led all scorers with 24 points on 4-of-8 shooting from deep.
Senior guard Chris Denson, the SEC's leading scorer, was held to just 9 points on 3-of-9 shooting.
Auburn's 2-3 zone kept the Bulldogs out of an offensive rhythm early, allowing the Tigers to jump out to an 8-0 lead.
Three-point shooting from Trivante Bloodman and Colin Borchert allowed Mississippi State to battle back and even things up with less than four minutes to play in the half.
The Bulldogs ended the half on a 16-2 run which saw Auburn make only one field goal in the final eight minutes. The Tigers were just 1-of-6 on threes in the first half of play.
Auburn trailed for most of the second half, although an 8-0 run cut the Bulldogs' lead to 51-49 with a little less than ten minutes to play.
Seniors Asauhn Dixon-Tatum and Allen Payne each recorded double-doubles for the Tigers. Both scored 12 points while Dixon-Tatum reeled in 13 rebounds and Payne had 10 of his own.
The Tigers will return to play Jan. 25 when they travel to Bud Walton Arena to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks (12-6, 1-4 SEC). Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.
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