No. 11 Auburn pulls out another OT win on the road

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (WSFA) - For the second time in three games, the No. 11 Auburn Tigers have pulled out a road victory after regulation. The Tigers (20-2, 7-2) defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks (16-6, 4-5) 79-76 in overtime to remain towards the top in conference standings.

Auburn buried 8 of 9 free throws in overtime to seal the deal.

The Tigers took an early 71-70 lead in the extra period on two free throws from Samir Doughty. For the second consecutive game, Doughty led the Tigers with a 23-point performance.

Last week, the Tigers trailed by 19 on the road at Ole Miss and still found a way to battle back to win in double overtime. Tuesday night, the Tigers trailed by 11 with 5:59 remaining in the game and clawed back into the game to force overtime.

J’Von McCormick led a 12-1 run to tie the game late. His three-pointer kicked things off and the Tigers would even the score at 66 on a fastbreak layup by McCormick with 2:15 to play. Arkansas answered on the other end with a score to gain a temporary two-point advantage before McCormick drilled a three-pointer to put Auburn ahead 69-68.

He’d finish with 16 points in 39 minutes.

The Razorbacks got a crack at a game-winner. It came up short and the game was sent to overtime.

Mason Jones missed the potential game-tying three in overtime for the Razorbacks. He’d finish with 40 points.

After the game, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said his team never gave up.

“We didn’t quit. I think it speaks to the effort, the energy and the character of our team to not give in, to not succumb to being down when you’re on the road,” said Pearl.

Freshman Isaac Okoro added 14 points and senior Anfernee McLemore finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers.

Auburn’s next game will come against the SEC’s top cat in the LSU Tigers. The two will square off Saturday morning at 11 a.m. from Auburn Arena.

*Editor’s Note: The original publication of this article stated that LSU was undefeated in conference play. That statement has been removed. At the time of publication, that statement was correct. LSU has since lost its first conference game.