With seconds left on the clock, Sharife Cooper hit a three to tie the game at 84. But with less than a second left on the clock, Devontae Shuler hit a jumper to complete Ole Miss’s 14-point comeback and secure the 86-84 overtime win.
Ole Miss came out and caught Auburn on its heels, getting off a few easy shots and taking an early lead. However, Auburn surged back and after six minutes took the lead.
Strong, physical play as well as great energy on both ends allowed Auburn to maintain the lead despite Ole Miss shooting 50 percent from the field. That carried over into the second half when Auburn went on a 7-0 run to double its six-point halftime lead.
However, aided by a number of calls that went their way and strong play in the paint, Ole Miss started to chip into Auburn’s lead in the last quarter of the game. It tied it up in the last minute to send the game into overtime.
“There were a couple of plays where we got a good play, but we didn’t execute as well as we could’ve, so we forced shots up at the end,” Cooper said.
Ole Miss started overtime on a streak, just like it started the game. It scored six straight points and built up a five-point lead. Auburn managed to come back, but it wasn’t able to make the most important stop of the game to force a second overtime.
Due to foul trouble as well as the success Auburn had with some of its big men, the game featured a number of different lineups. As a result, a large number of players had significant contributions in the game. Devan Cambridge, Jaylin Williams and Allen Flanigan finished with a team-high 16 points each. Cooper had 15 while Dylan Cardwell added 10. JT Thor and Jamal Johnson had eight points and three points respectively.
Here are three takeaways from the overtime loss:
Blood, sweat and maybe some tears
After a game where listlessness led to a loss against Georgia, Auburn came out fired up. It was all over the floor, forcing seven turnovers and only giving up a few easy shots. The refs were letting them play, not calling many fouls for most of the first half, and Auburn was able to play a very physical game. They made two blocks and three steals and kept Ole Miss to under 30 shot attempts in the first half.
The energy on the defensive end helped Auburn through a slower start on offense and kept the game close so that Auburn could come back. Unlike in past games, the Tigers maintained the pace even after they built a comfortable lead. They didn’t ease up before the half nor did they come out slow after halftime.
The refs eventually started calling more fouls, but there were still bodies flying everywhere, fighting for loose balls and attempting to draw charges. The game got so physical that the game had to stop for both Auburn’s Flanigan and Ole Miss’s Romello White who both appeared to step out and wipe up cuts.
The momentum turned after Cooper was called for an off-the-ball charge followed by a shooting foul on Auburn. But Auburn kept playing hard and forced overtime despite a lot of plays that didn’t go their way.
When overtime tipped off, it started with a hustle play by Cooper who went flying to save a ball headed out of bounds. The next few minutes were spent in constant transition as the two teams raced back and forth.
The Tigers kept fighting despite falling behind five points, but it wasn’t enough, and tears may have been shed after a buzzer-beater jump shot defeated them.
“I thought overall we played well,” coach Bruce Pearl said. “I thought we did a lot of really good things. The kids played hard.”
However, moving forward, Pearl also said his team will need to be even more physical, especially on defense.
“I asked the guys after the game just to do the little things, the basics,” Pearl said. “It’s our ability to defend. Defense, rebounding, toughness, strength, just getting pushed around. The guys defensively don’t have to be Superman, just got to do a better job of keeping the guy in front of you, a better job of communicating, a better job of getting a deflection and forcing some more turnovers.”
Dylan Cardwell sparks, sustains energy
The true freshman has become known for his enthusiastic celebrations. That energy makes fans smile, but it also translates to his teammates.
Saturday both his energy and his play helped Auburn get through a slow offensive start and take a lead going into halftime. Cardwell scored four of Auburn’s first six points, including a crowd-pleasing alley-oop dunk. He crashed the boards hard and led the team with four rebounds going into the half.
Cardwell didn’t start, but his 13 minutes in the first half were the third-most on the team. His first half performance earned him the start after the halftime.
“Dylan is one of our most physical players,” Pearl said. “Maybe our most-physical player. That is a big, strong young freshman ... he was out there because of his physicality.”
Less than two minutes in, Sharife Cooper found Cardwell for his third alley-oop dunk of the game, forcing Ole Miss to immediately call a timeout.
The crowd clearly appreciated all Cardwell’s work. Every time he subbed out for a rest, the fans gave him one of the largest applauses of anyone on the team.
Cardwell finished with a career-high 10 points as well as six rebounds and an assist. He put in 28 points, also the most of his career.
“The best is yet to come,” Pearl said.
Big men dominate
When the whistle blew and the Auburn subs were waved onto the court, both Cooper and Johnson came off. The guards were now Chris Moore, Devan Cambridge and Allen Flanigan, Auburn’s largest lineup.
Immediately, Cambridge drove and scored an easy layup, forcing Ole Miss to call a timeout. That lineup, paired with some combination of Jaylin Williams, Babatunde Akingbola, JT Thor and Cardwell, proved difficult for the smaller Ole Miss team to defend. Auburn drove to the paint and snatched offensive rebounds above their head. And, since Pearl loves to encourage every single player on the team to shoot three’s, Ole Miss couldn’t crash and focus on defending the paint. Williams and Cambridge proved they were consistent threats beyond the arc.
The downside of having a large lineup is usually defensive, when the smaller guards on the other team lose their defenders. But Auburn played with great energy on the defensive side of the court and managed to keep up. They were also able to prevent easy layups by coming from behind and blocking them. Auburn out-rebounded Ole Miss 16-11 and outscored it in the paint 20-14 in the first half.
However, as the refs started calling more fouls, Auburn struggled to guard Ole Miss’s best big, Romello White.
“The big fella, White, he’s great on back-to-basket, posting up and then hitting face jump shots,” Cooper said.
Even with two Auburn players in his face, White continuously finished at the rim. White scored 30 points and made 10 rebounds. In the second half, Ole Miss out-rebounded Auburn 19-14 and outscored Auburn in the paint 22-10.
Auburn was ultimately defeated by what was originally its strength.
Related articles:
Rewind Auburn’s buzzer-beater loss to Ole Miss
NCAA names Auburn Athletic Director Allen Greene Champion of Diversity and Inclusion
Auburn football 2021 scholarship chart