Close game Auburn strikes again as Tigers fall

Tuscaloosa | It was groundhog day for Auburn.

The Tigers, who at one point led No. 2 Alabama 66-49, faltered in the final eight minutes and went on to lose 90-85 in overtime.

Since the start of SEC play, Auburn's record is 2-5 in games decided by under five points.

"Our guys have been through a lot," said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. "Man. I don't know that I've had this many close losses against so many great teams."

After the Tigers went up by 17, Alabama went on a 16-0 run to cut the lead to one, and after that, the Tide got to the line at will.

Alabama shot 20 free throws in the second half and overtime, with Brandon Miller and Jahvon Quinerly shooting 13 of them.

"Alabama did a great job of getting downhill," Pearl said.

Tied at 75, Auburn got a chance at the final shot after forcing an Alabama turnover, but Wendell Green's look from mid-range was short.

"We just ran a middle ball screen," Pearl said. "(Green) had a chance to get a shot or throw the ball to Jaylin in the corner. He had a pretty clean look. It goes in and we're celebrating."

With 7:31 left in the game, Johni Broome picked up his fifth foul, and in overtime, both Jaylin Williams and Allen Flanigan fouled out.

Without three of his best players, Pearl ran a lineup of Wendell Green, Tre Donaldson, K.D. Johnson, Lior Berman and Chris Moore.

That group of five hadn't run together all season but was still able to keep overtime within reach.

"I thought we represented the name on the front of our jersey as well as the name on the back," Pearl said. "We are a proud program."

There was a bit of a script flip from Auburn as its bench finally gave it production.

Led by Johnson's 21, the Tigers got 34 points from its bench.

"I thought the bench was terrific," Pearl said. "I thought Tre Donaldson stepped up and played with a lot of confidence. K.D. is an athlete that's hard to stay in front of. He was 4-for-5 from three and was pretty effective. He got to the line 12 times. Did a good job driving downhill... Chris Moore was fantastic. Chris Moore's defense on Brandon Miller was great."