AUBURN | Samir Doughty is the definition of effort.
It shows every time the Auburn senior steps on the floor including Tuesday night’s 67-58 win over Ole Miss. Doughty was second on the team in scoring and crucial in holding Breein Tyree to just 3 of 19 shooting from the floor.
“Tyree has been averaging 30-plus in his last five games against SEC competition,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “That’s a couple of times we’ve done a pretty good job against him. Give Samir Doughty credit. He was excited about guarding him.”
Doughty pitched in 14 points on the offensive end along with three rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes.
During a crucial stretch of the second half when Ole Miss has whittled down Auburn’s lead to three points with 16:11 remaining, Doughty made driving layups on back-to-back possessions and then drew a foul on a third drive, making 1 of 2 free throws to score five consecutive points and put the Tigers back up by eight.
Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis couldn't help but sing Doughty's praises in his postgame interview.
“I love Samir and his toughness throughout the game,” Davis said. “We couldn’t keep him out of the paint. He has just made so many winning plays down the stretch during this SEC year.”
The Tigers, which improved to 24-4 overall and 11-4 in the SEC, play at No. 8 Kentucky Saturday at 2:45 p.m. CT on CBS. The Wildcats are 23-5 overall and 13-2 in the conference.
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