Close losses are becoming increasingly common for the Auburn men's basketball team in 2014.
The Tigers battled the No. 7 Florida Gators throughout Saturday afternoon's matchup in the Auburn Arena, but were unable to close it out, eventually falling 68-61.
The loss is Auburn's (8-7, 0-4 SEC) fourteenth consecutive defeat in Southeastern Conference play.
The Tigers trailed just 62-61 after Tahj Shamsid-Deen knocked down a jumper with two minutes left to play, but Florida made four of its final six free throws and Auburn never scored again.
"There are no moral victories," head coach Tony Barbee said. "The team has talked about it, I've talked about it, there is no such thing as a moral victory. I'm proud of this team because of how hard we are playing, how hard we are fighting and how great the chemistry is on this team."
Chris Denson and KT Harrell again led in scoring for the Tigers. Denson was the leading scorer with 21 points while Harrell added 18 points and four three-pointers.
Coming off the bench for the Gators (15-2, 4-0 SEC), Florida's leading scorer Casey Prather had 21 points and six rebounds.
The Gators scored 32 of their 68 points in the paint, something Barbee attributed to the size of Florida's senior center Patric Young.
"Patric Young is hard to handle," Barbee said. "They did a good job of getting that ball in the paint, whether it was to Young or it was (Scottie) Wilbekin making a play off the bounce."
Young scored 13 points and corralled six rebounds, while Wilbekin added 16 points from the point guard position for the Gators.
After knocking down their first three three-pointers, Auburn went cold from the field and found itself down 27-14 with less than five minutes remaining in the first half.
"I thought we came out timid, a little in awe of Florida," Barbee said. "When we realized that we're capable of playing against this team or any team in our league, we're pretty darn good."
Florida senior Casey Prather returned to the court for the Gators after missing the past two contests with a knee bruise. The 6-6 forward had 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first half.
The Gators shot 61.1 percent from the field and appeared to be on the verge of breaking away from the Tigers, but a late 18-6 run left Auburn trailing just 33-32 at the break.
Harrell, Denson and senior forward Allen Payne were a combined 5-of-5 from behind the arc in the first half for the Tigers.
Late game execution had been a concern for Coach Barbee after recent close losses, and the Tigers again struggled late, failing to score a point in the final two minutes of the game.
"Our poise, our focus and our confidence hasn't been there in those moments when we've got to make those plays," Barbee said. "Losing is not our destiny, we've got to change our destiny. It's in our hands to change."
After the game, Payne said he was proud of his teammates' effort, but said it's time for the Tigers to start winning in closer games.
"We're desperate for a win at this point," Payne said. "We battled, but at this point it's not good enough to do just that. We have to start pulling these games out."
Auburn returns to action on Jan. 22 when they travel to Starkville, MS to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs (12-5, 2-2 SEC).
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