No. 1 Auburn survived a late push from Arkansas en route to its 67-60 victory on Wednesday night and Chad Baker-Mazara was a large part of the reason why.
Following a turnover that allowed the Razorbacks to take their only lead of the second half, Baker-Mazara hit a lay-up with 2:41 left in the game that put the Tigers back in front. He hit two free throws with 1:15 left to extend Auburn’s lead to five. Arkansas’ Adou Thiero made it a one-possesion game with 1:01 left, knocking down a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to three.
Auburn’s veteran forward came up clutch again with 0:32 left, however, burying his final two free throws of the game that helped secure the win for the Tigers.
“Coach really emphasizes a lot that if you make a mistake, do something good the next play,” Baker-Mazara said. “You can’t let one play determine the next couple of plays you do. You have to wipe it off and go to the next play.”
That was not the only significant moment Baker-Mazara had at the free-throw line. With 4:32 left in the first half, he hit a pair of free throws that put him across the 1,000-point threshold in his career.
“It was pretty fun, not gonna lie,” Baker-Mazara said of the recognition he received from the sold-out Neville Arena crowd for his accomplishment. “I didn’t get mine in high school, so it was a goal of mine to come and get it in college.
“It was pretty cool because my first point in college was a free throw and my 1,000th point in college was a free throw. So yeah, I'm pretty hyped because of that.
Auburn did not have its best shooting performance, ending the game 40.3 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from 3-point range. Baker-Mazara, who shot 4-of-8 from the field, credited the Tigers’ abundance of options for allowing them to get the job done, even when shots are not falling.
“We've got a lot of different weapons on our team,” Baker-Mazara said. “When one's not working, we can go down the list and see which one may work. So with us, if the tray ball don't fall, we've got some guys down there in the paint that are taking care of business since the season started.”
Baker-Mazara and the rest of the Tigers return to action on Saturday when they host Georgia. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT and ESPN will carry the broadcast.
