National Basketball Association
Auburn 74, Alabama 55
When: 8:15 PM ET, Thursday, January 30, 2014
Where: Auburn Arena, Auburn, Alabama
Officials:
# Tony Greene, # Keith Kimble, # Mike Roberts
Attendance:
9102
By SportsDirect Inc.
Auburn 74, Alabama 55: Chris Denson scored six of his career-high 32 points during a game-opening 12-0 run as the host Tigers downed their in-state rival for their first SEC victory.
Auburn (9-9, 1-6) started quickly in a game delayed one night due to a winter storm in the south, then pulled away in the second half to snap a six-game losing streak. Denson finished 10-for-16 from the field and KT Harrell added 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting with a career-best 11 rebounds.
The Crimson Tide (9-11, 3-4) missed 10 of their first 11 shots and finished at 35.8 percent shooting from the field. Trevor Releford scored 15 points to lead Alabama, which fell to 1-3 in its past four games.
Alabama endured a nightmare start to the game, missing its first six shots and committing five turnovers in the opening five minutes. Harrell’s 3-pointer capped the 12-0 run, but the Crimson Tide rallied to within 24-19 on Shannon Hale’s jumper with about 3 ½ minutes left in the first half.
Auburn established a 30-22 halftime advantage, but Algie Key scored on back-to-back layups and Carl Engstrom hit two free throws two minutes into the second half to keep Alabama within 33-28. But Denson scored 11 points during a 16-5 run that Harrell concluded with a three-point play with just over 13 minutes to play, pushing the Tigers’ lead to 49-33.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Tigers beat Alabama for the second time in the past eight meetings. … Alabama missed its first eight 3-point attempts and finished with 13 turnovers, including 10 in the first half. … Denson moved within 30 points of the 1,000 mark for his career.
Top Game Performances
| Alabama |
|
Auburn |
|
Trevor Releford 15 |
Scoring |
Chris Denson 32 |
|
Algie Key 2 |
Assists |
KT Harrell 2 |
|
Rodney Cooper 7 |
Rebounds |
KT Harrell 11 |
|
Shannon Hale 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Chris Denson 11 |
|
Rodney Cooper 1 |
Steals |
Allen Payne 3 |
|
Carl Engstrom 1 |
Blocks |
Matthew Atewe 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Alabama
|
55 |
35.8 |
3-16 |
14-20 |
5 |
28 |
4 |
5 |
13 |
| Auburn
|
74 |
49.0 |
2-12 |
22-28 |
9 |
33 |
7 |
6 |
11 |