Auburn wins to break 6-game losing streak

Who says these early-round conference tournament games don’t matter?

Don’t say that to Auburn, which took its Wednesday night “play-in game” against Mississippi State in SEC Tournament seriously serious. The 13th-seeded Tigers (13-19, 4-14) swapped 15 leads and ties against the 12th-seeded Bulldogs (13-19, 4-14) before closing out the victory at the foul line. The win broke a six-game losing streak.

“It feels amazing,” said Auburn senior K.T. Harrell, the SEC’s leading scorer. “You lose a lot of close games and finally get to pull one out, it just feels amazing.”

Harrell finished with 19 points and was one of three double-figure scorers for the Tigers. K.C. Ross-Miller had 21 points and 7 rebounds and Alex Thompson came off the bench for 16.

Ross-Miller and Thompson joined and Devin Waddell in becoming surprisingly key players for the Tigers. Ross-Miller scored 15 points above his average, Thompson had 14 over his and Waddell have four points and four rebounds while playing a highly-unusual 16 minutes and drew two charges, the second of which probably decided the game. It was followed by a Thompson 3-pointer and gave Auburn a late four-point lead it would never relinquish.

“How often in tournament play is it somebody you’re not expecting comes through?” Auburn first-year coach Bruce Pearl asked rhetorically. “Tonight we had about four of those guys.”

As a result, Auburn advances to the second round to face No. 5 seeded Texas A&M (20-10, 11-7). The Aggies will likely have to play without the leading scorer Danuel House (14.8 ppg), who has a foot injury.

The Bulldogs’ third season under coach Rick Ray ends at 13-19. State got 21 points from Craig Sword and 18 from I.J. Ready but shot 8.3 percent from 3-point range (1-for-12). Guard Fred Thomas, who averages 9 points a game did not play due to “coach’s decision,” Ray said.

Neither team held to its usual SEC tournament form. The Tigers won a first-round game for the first time since 2005 while Mississippi State lost in the first round for the first time in three years.