In a season that is sure to be full of firsts for the young Auburn Tigers, there are sure to be many positive experiences to build on for the future of a rising program.
The Tigers have already picked up their first true road win, along with their first game-winning shots. One toppled Auburn in New York, and the other propelled them to wins over back to back marquee programs.
On Thursday night at Auburn Arena, the Tigers notched another first, one of the more heartbreaking variety: their first blown lead. Rival Georgia escaped Auburn with a 96-84 victory, overcoming a 12-point second-half deficit.
“We played really well offensively in the first half, and it should have been a double-digit lead,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. “Maten and Frazier were the two guys that could beat us, and those are the two guys that did beat us.”
Georgia’s Yante Maten lead the Bulldogs with 31 points, after a lethargic first half performance. J.J. Frazier added 27 points, and was laser-sharp from the free throw line, making nine of 10 attempts.
“I don’t think I developed a good enough game plan to get the ball out of their hands and get them covered,” Pearl said. “Unfortunately, what happens then is you get exposed. We have a very young front line, three freshmen and a sophomore couldn’t handle Maten.”
Georgia’s offense was virtually unstoppable in the second half, with Maten and Frazier spearheading a 44-20 Georgia run in the last 15 minutes of play. The Bulldogs trailed by as many as 13, and lead by as much as 15.
“We did a great job guarding the three ball, and did a terrible job of guarding the lane,” Pearl said. “The inside was parted all night long.”
Auburn went into the half with the hot hand, shooting 56% from the floor and a solid 7-14 from deep. In the second half, those numbers dropped to an abysmal 36% shooting and only 2-12 from beyond the arc. Mustapha Heron, who led the Auburn with 19 points, was the only Tiger to convert a triple in the last 20 minutes.
Auburn didn’t trail until 6:11 remaining in the game. From that point on, Georgia outscored the Tigers 18-8.
“I think the great play from Georgia, getting the stops, got us disrupted,” Pearl said. “We were a little panicked. But when they were scoring almost every possession, it’s hard not to panic. Our biggest lead in the second half was twelve, and theirs was fifteen. That’s a 27-point swing. I don’t care how young or old you are, that allows some panic to set in."
“Defense and rebounding wins, and we couldn’t defend. That’s how you lose, that’s how you blow a lead.”
The loss was Auburn’s first this season in which the Tigers led at the half. There were several instances in the first half where the athleticism of the Tigers and the energy of the crowd seemed to be culminating into a blowout. But Georgia steadily remained in striking distance.
Points off turnovers favored Auburn, 19-14, however only four of those points came in the second half. The Dawgs won the turnover battle, 13-12, after a sloppy first half of 10 turnovers.
“We didn’t trust our process once they closed the gap, and we stopped executing,” Pearl said. “Sometimes that happens, we’re young, and they got rattled.”
Mustapha Heron took it upon himself to execute a heat check with approximately 16 minutes left in the game, after draining back to back three pointers and posterizing a pair of Georgia defenders. His 30-foot jumper fell short, however Jared Harper picked up the slack by slicing through the defense and converting a floater on the next possession. Georgia was forced to call timeout.
The energy within Auburn Arena, almost tangible, seemed insurmountable for the visitors from Athens. Auburn led by 12.
A quick 7-2 run jolted the Bulldogs back to life, and began an offensive rhythm that didn’t cease until the final buzzer. Pearl recognizes that his much-improved squad still has a lot to learn.
“This is the first big lead we’ve blown,” Pearl said. “We didn’t have any leads my first two years, so we didn’t blow many. When you give up 53 points in a half of basketball, it’s not going to get you a win.”
Auburn gets another shot at the Bulldogs in Athens, Georgia, on March 1.
“This is the best they’ve played this year, I’m sure Mark (Fox) would agree,” Pearl said. “This is conference play now, band almost all of their kids have been there before. Not many of our guys have. We’re a resilient team. We started four freshmen, so this game will be a good lesson for us.”
Auburn falls to 10-3, dropping their first home conference opener in the Bruce Pearl era. The Tigers are still playing through the best start of Pearl’s career on The Plains, and look to rebound on the road at Vanderbilt on January 4 in Nashville, Tennessee.
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