After big nights from two of their stars, the Tigers kept building momentum with a win over the Rebels in Oxford.
The Auburn Tigers managed to overcome a late push from the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday to avoid dropping their second consecutive game. On Tuesday night in Oxford, Mississippi, they handled business again for their second win in a row.
The Tigers (12-7, 3-3 SEC) picked up a 78-66 win over the Ole Miss Rebels (11-8, 3-3 SEC) to build additional momentum after a shaky start to the SEC portion of their schedule.
While its struggles to shoot from 3-point range persisted, Auburn was led to victory by dominat performances from the players who have been its most consistent difference-makers so far this season: Keyshawn Hall and Tahaad Pettiford.
Hall put 19 points on the board to lead all scorers. Pettiford followed closely with 17. Those two weren't the only Tigers to put together memorable performances, as KeShawn Murphy added 16 points of his own while also grabbing 14 rebounds.
The Tigers and Rebels fought for control out of the gate, but Auburn never trailed by more than two points. After a 9-0 run that began when down by two with 7:01 remaining in the first half, Auburn never surrendered the lead.
Ole Miss managed to cut the deficit to one point before heading into the locker room for half time, but Auburn held off that push, as well as multiple others by the Rebels throughout the second half, including one that made it a three-point game with 3:25 left to play, and escaped Oxford with a win.
While a lot went right for the Tigers in this matchup, their performance from beyond the arc was not a factor that led to victory.
Auburn finished the game 2-of-17, 11.8%, from deep. This was the second game in a row it turned in a 3-point shooting percentage of less than 15.
The Tigers shot the ball well in other areas, ending the night 22-of-51, 43.1%, from the field and 32-of-39, 82.1%, from the free-throw line.
Auburn struggled to find answers for Ole Miss' AJ Storr, Patton Pinkins and Travis Perry, who finished the game with 18, 15 and 15 points, respectively.
Auburn has another road test ahead of it on Saturday when it travels to Gainesville for a showdown with the No. 16 Florida Gators at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT.