The Sports Xchange
Dec 9, 2017
Bryce Brown scored 27 points as Auburn outlasted visiting Alabama-Birmingham 85-80 on Saturday at Auburn Arena.
The win is the sixth in a row for the Tigers, who improved to 8-1. The loss drops the Blazers to 6-4 on the season.
Auburn led the entire contest and by as many as 15 points with 7:07 remaining in the first half. But the lead was trimmed, however, as Brown lost his scoring touch and the Tigers fell into foul trouble.
Jalen Perry's 3-pointer cut the Alabama-Birmingham's deficit to 71-70 with 4:21 remaining. Perry finished with 14 points, three rebounds and three assists.
But Alabama-Birmingham failed to overcome an Auburn offense that was able to stave off the Blazers' late attack.
Brown tied the second-most points he's ever scored in a game, but 23 of them came in the first half as Auburn used a 10-run to take a 47-40 lead into halftime.
Three Auburn players scored in double-digit figures, including Jared Harper and Desean Murray with 21 and 18 points, respectively. Murray grabbed seven rebounds, while Harper topped all players with five assists.
Chris Cokley tied a career best with 26 points to pace Alabama-Birmingham. The senior forward was a perfect 10 of 10 from the line and grabbed nine boards.
Zack Bryant scored 11 points, while Nick Norton and Nate Darling each added 10 for the Blazers, who outshot Auburn 45.5 to 43.3 percent from the field.
The Blazers also held the edge in the paint, outscoring the Tigers 32 to 24.
Both schools return to action on Dec. 16. in Birmingham's Legacy Arena. Auburn will face Middle Tennessee State after Alabama-Birmingham takes on Alabama A&M in the earlier contest.