Auburn's defense stood up one more time as the game came down to one possession.

The Tigers, holding onto a 43-42 lead with 12 seconds left against Northwestern in a game that no one will put on offensive highlights, forced a bad shot and ran the clock out to win the Cancun Challenge Championship.

"Look, the fact that we held Northwestern to 42 points tells you about our effort, our energy and our defense," Bruce Pearl said. "That's got to carry us."

Auburn kept the Wildcats to a 25 percent shooting percentage, including 2-of-24 from outside the three-point line, but the Tigers' inability on offense kept Pearl's squad from gaining a marginal lead. And, earlier in the second half, it seemed that the Wildcats would be gaining a huge advantage, taking a six-point lead with 12:02 left on a Ty Berry three-point shot.

The Tigers quickly erased that deficit with a K.D. Johnson bucket and a free throw after getting fouled and Jaylin Williams draining a three-pointer. Just 24 seconds after that, Johnson stole the ball and found Williams for a layup to give Auburn a two-point lead.

But Auburn would need one more big basket with under a minute to play. Allen Flanigan found some room and scored with 31 seconds left to give the Tigers a one-point advantage.

As Pearl pointed out, experienced players are who you count on at the end of a battle.

"You need to be able to count on your veterans, and that's why we won the game," the coach said.

As for the struggle on offense, Pearl admitted that work is needed, but the fight in his players is how they fought off a tough night on that side of the floor.

"We showed heart, we showed character, we showed toughness, and we gutted this one out," he said.