AUBURN | Trailing by 14 points on the road, Auburn didn’t flinch and didn’t fold.

The 4th-ranked Tigers used a 20-4 second-half run to rally for an 80-71 win at Ole Miss for their 13th consecutive victory. AU improves to 16-1 overall and 5-0 SEC, its best start in league play since 1999.

“You know, we never give up. We always stick together,” said center Walker Kessler, who tied his career-high with 20 points. “We understand what it takes to win, regardless of what—even if we are down, we all stick together and we get the win.”

The Tigers led by 11 points with 4:33 left in the game before a 7-0 Ole Miss run cut it to a 4-point lead. Jabari Smith responded with a 3-pointer as the Tigers outscored the Rebels 9-4 over the final three minutes.

“Look, he’s not afraid, alright,” said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl of Smith. “And if our guys don’t figure out that they need to get him the ball in those situations and somebody else takes a big shot, that’s going to be a problem.”

Ole Miss built a 14-point first-half lead, not committing a turnover for the first 17 minutes or committing a foul until 19.1 second remaining. The Tigers, however, finished the half on a 7-0 run including a dunk by Walker Kessler and 3 of 4 free throws by K.D. Johnson to cut the lead to 44-38.

After shooting 56.7 percent from the floor including 6 of 12 3-pointers and committing just five turnovers in the first half, Ole Miss was held to 29.2 percent shooting, 2 of 10 from 3-point range and committed nine turnovers after the break.

“We couldn't guard them in the first half until sort of the end of the first half,” said Pearl. “I thought when K.D. Johnson made a few plays defensively, and obviously gave us a little bit of a lift going into the locker room. And then I think that the combination of Wendell Green and K.D., Jabari and Walker, those four guys were tremendous tonight.

“It takes special to be able to win on the road and I think all four of them were special tonight.”

Kessler added 10 rebounds for the sixth double-double of his career. He also had seven blocked shots and four steals.

Smith had 15 points, and Johnson and Green 14 points apiece. Green added five rebounds and seven assists. Zep Jasper had 8 points and three assists. AU’s two point guards, Jasper and Green, combined for just one turnover in 50 minutes.

"We got the ball to our point guards, which was really, really good. Our point guards take care of the ball," said Pearl.

The Tigers return to action Wednesday night against Georgia. Tip-off at Auburn Arena is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU.