Wendell Green Jr. scored 23 points and Johni Broome added 19 as Auburn held on for a 78-74 victory over visiting Ole Miss in Southeastern Conference play on Wednesday.
Green hit 6 of 12 shots from the floor, in addition to sinking 11 of 12 free-throw attempts, to go along with four assists. Broome shot 8 of 13 from the field and had eight rebounds, six blocks and three assists for the Tigers, who have won two of their past three games.
Jaylin Williams chipped in 12 points and Allen Flanigan finished with 11 points, six rebounds and five assists for Auburn.
The Tigers (19-9, 9-6 SEC) shot 25 of 52 (48.1 percent) from the field, including 6 of 17 (35.3 percent) from 3-point range.
Ole Miss (10-18, 2-13) was led by Matthew Murrell’s 23 points, with Myles Burns adding 14 points and six rebounds. James White finished with 13 points and four rebounds for the Rebels, who lost their fourth straight game and for the ninth time in their past 10 contests.
The Rebels shot 24 of 58 (41.4 percent) from the field, including 6 of 18 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Tigers shot 22 of 24 from the free-throw line, much better than Ole Miss, which went 20 of 32 from the charity stripe.
After Flanigan’s dunk gave Auburn a 55-45 advantage with 13:28 remaining, the Rebels rallied. Ole Miss went on a 13-0 run to take a 58-55 lead following White’s layup with 9:54 to go.
Ole Miss took a 63-59 edge on White’s 3-pointer with 6:21 left before Auburn went on a decisive 11-1 run to take a 70-64 advantage it wouldn’t relinquish following Green’s reverse layup with 3:38 to play.
White’s 3-pointer pulled Ole Miss to within 74-73 with 14 seconds to go, but Green hit two free throws with 11 seconds left to secure the win.
The Rebels missed eight of their final 10 shots from the field in the final 5:45.
After Murrell’s two free throws tied the game at 26 with 5:05 left in the first half, Auburn closed on a 14-7 run to take a 44-30 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
