KT Harrell's 24 points lifted Auburn to a 71-68 victory over South Carolina Saturday, Jan. 17.
None of those 24 were more important than the four that came after Harrell was fouled on a made 3-pointer with the Tigers trailing 53-57 with less than five minutes to go.
"Late in the game, it doesn't take a great coach to figure out that you've got to get the ball in his hands," head coach Bruce Pearl said. "KT did a great job closing it out."
Harrell said the play, along with the crowd, was a great experience for him.
"Man, that was a great feeling," Harrell said. "It was a big momentum shift for us, so I was just glad I made the play."
Antoine Mason said he agreed the play was a huge part of Auburn's win.
"It changed the whole momentum," Mason said. "We got more confidence and just focused on defense."
Mason was the Tigers' second-leading scorer on the night with 14, while Cinmeon Bowers joined Harrell and Mason in double-digits, recording his 11th double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Auburn led 39-29 at the half, but South Carolina opened up the second half on fire, eventually taking back the lead 47-46 with a little more than elven minutes left. The game was back and forth the rest of the way.
"If you look at how we got the game, it was defense, turning them over, transition and rebounding," Pearl said. "They came out (in the second half) scoring, and we weren't rebounding, we weren't running and we weren't turning them over. The start of second halves has been a problem for us this year."
The Tigers forced 17 turnovers, and converted those turnovers into 17 points. They also out-rebounded the Gamecocks 36-34.
"We had 23 defensive rebounds, and they only had nine offensive rebounds," Pearl said. "They rebound 35 or 36 percent of their misses, and obviously that is not what they had tonight. The fact that South Carolina only got nine second chance points is huge."
The crowd was a factor all night for Auburn, whose performances at home have exceedingly outshone those on the road.
"That's probably the loudest it's been since I've been here," Harrell said. "When you have that type of atmosphere, that type of crowd, it makes you feel like you can't lose, and it makes you play that much harder."
Pearl also commented on the crowd, and said things may have gone differently without it.
"That could not have happened without a sell-out crowd," Pearl said. "I talked to (USC head coach) Frank Martin before the game and he looked around and complimented what he saw in Auburn Arena."
Overall, Auburn shot 36.5 percent from the field, and went seven of 20 from three-point land.
The win moves the Tigers to 10-7 overall on the year, with a 2-2 record in SEC play.
Next up, the Tigers will take on Mississippi State on Wednesday, Jan 21 in Auburn Arena at 8 p.m. before traveling to Alabama on Jan. 24.
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