AUBURN | Miles Kelly was 0 of 5 from the floor in the first half missing his only 3-point attempt.

He committed three fouls and had a turnover early in the second half.

Then Auburn’s best long-range shooter heated up and made 2 of 3 3-pointers over the final six minutes including the game-winner with 30 seconds left.

“As soon as it left my hands I knew it was good. Those are the moments that I live for,” said Kelly of the shot that gave the top-ranked Tigers a 53-51 win over No. 6 Tennessee at Neville Arena.

Kelly only scored six points, but they were a big six points. He came off a screen to make AU’s second 3-pointer of the game with 6:09 left to put the Tigers up 43-40.

Trailing 51-49, Johni Broome missed a contested shot at the rim, got his own rebound, and while falling out of bounds, passed it to Kelly in the left corner.

Kelly released it immediately right in front of Auburn’s bench and it found the bottom of the net, giving Auburn a win in its first top 10 matchup at home in 66 years.

“I had no doubt it was going in. Absolutely no doubt, and neither did anybody in this building, neither did any of his teammates,” said AU coach Bruce Pearl.

The Tigers shot a season-worst .310 from the floor including 3 of 20 3-pointers. But the defense stepped up to hold the Volunteers to .315 from the floor and 4 of 22 3-pointers.

AU also held a 41-37 rebounding advantage.

“I think tonight we really took a step defensively and taking our matchups personal, locking in on that, which led to us winning, ultimately,” said Kelly. “We're going to have games like this. Every shooting night is not going to be ours.”

Auburn, 18-1 overall and 6-0 in the SEC, plays at LSU Wednesday night at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network.