Auburn basketball fights, but comes up short in OT rivalry loss to Alabama

TUSCALOOSA — Auburn basketball has been searching for a season-defining win for weeks.

It nearly came in Knoxville on Feb. 4 against Tennessee. It almost happened three days later at Texas A&M, but no dice. Auburn even led for nearly 25 minutes in a matchup with Alabama on Feb. 11. But again and again, the Tigers couldn’t finish.

It was more of the same Wednesday night in Coleman Coliseum. The Tigers (19-11, 9-8 SEC) lost a 17-point lead in the second half against the Crimson Tide (26-4, 16-1), falling in overtime, 90-85. By the game’s waning moments, Johni Broome, Jaylin Williams and Allen Flanigan had fouled out and Dylan Cardwell was on the bench with a knee injury that kept him sidelined for the extra period.

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A sloppy first half

Auburn jumped out to an early 10-2 lead. Aside from a Mark Sears layup in the first minute, the Tigers held Alabama scoreless for the first six minutes. Williams connected a couple of 3-pointers before the first media timeout, but he also picked up two fouls that sent him to the bench.

The first half ended sloppily for both sides. Auburn had nine turnovers in the first 11 minutes to Alabama’s seven. The Crimson Tide shot 39.3% in the opening 20 minutes, but entered the bonus with 9:09 remaining in the first half, which led to eight made free throws for the home team.

K.D. Johnson and Tre Donaldson came off the bench to score nine and seven points, respectively, at the half and teamed up with Williams, who had 10 points at the break, to go into the locker room with a 40-33 advantage.

Alabama’s late push

The Crimson Tide tied the game at 42-42 with 18:27 left, but the Tigers then went on a 24-7 run to take their biggest lead of the game.

Story continues

Alabama countered with a 26-9 run that sent the game to overtime. Wendell Green Jr. missed a potential game-winning shot with seconds left in regulation. The Crimson Tide then outscored Auburn in the extra period, 15-10.

Up next

The Tigers close out the regular season at home against Tennessee (22-8, 11-6) on Saturday. The Vols topped Arkansas on Tuesday, 75-57, for their second consecutive victory.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball: Tigers lose second-half lead, fall in OT at Alabama