It was the Allen Flanigan show in the second half for Auburn in its 78-71 win over Mississippi State.

Flanigan finished the game 22 points, four rebounds and two assists, with 17 of his points coming in the second half.

The sophomore guard played all 20 minutes in the second half, and had a crucial three with four minutes to go, putting Auburn up 67-61.

Flanigan put the exclamation point on the game with a violent dunk with a little over a minute to go and knocking down the final free throws.

“He got downhill, he turned the corner, kind of challenged them a little bit,” Pearl said of Flanigan. “Mississippi State was kind of switching out and and I'm like, come on, man. You've got to be able to drive by these big guys. We're getting you double gaps, you should be able to turn the corner. He turned the corner a couple times, got a couple tough 2s. Didn't play through the foul, scored through the contact, and that's what he's got to do. The fact that he played 20 minutes in the second half and didn't have a turnover, that was huge, valuing the ball and taking care of business.”

The Arkansas native shot 7-of-13 from the floor and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc.

“I knew the game was close and I had to step up and try to make plays,” Flanigan said. “I just took advantage of how guys were closing out and playing.”

After averaging 3.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 0.4 assists in 13.8 minutes per game while shooting 39.4% from the floor, 14.3% from downtown and 45.9% from the free throw line, Flanigan improved his numbers across the board during the 2020-’21 season.

This year, he averaged 14.3 points per game, 5.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists while playing over 30 minutes per game. He bolstered his shot percentages to over 45% from the floor, 33.3% from deep and 78% from the line.

With all that said, Pearl is still expecting more from his “workhorse.”

“He is -- he's a handful,” Pearl said. “But I'm just telling you, there's a lot of upside here. He's got a lot more to give.”

Auburn officially enters the offseason now, and Flanigan and the rest of the team will be given a week to rest before turning the page to next year.

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