Auburn Tigers vs Alabama Crimson Tide Match Player Stats On Mar 05, 2019

Chuma Okeke scored 17 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, and visiting Auburn rallied for a 66-60 win over Alabama on Tuesday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Jared Harper added 16 points, including back-to-back layups in the final 1:09 to break a 60-all tie. Auburn (21-9, 10-7 SEC) boosted its NCAA Tournament resume with its third victory in a row and fifth win in its past six contests.

Kira Lewis scored 13 points, Herbert Jones had 11 and Tevin Mack tallied 10 to lead the Crimson Tide. Alabama (17-13, 8-9) dropped to 0-2 against its in-state rivals on the season.

Auburn trailed by 11 points at halftime but outscored Alabama 43-26 after the break.

A 3-pointer by Mack evened the score at 60 with 1:40 to play. Harper responded with a layup with 1:09 to play and another layup with 18 seconds remaining to push the Auburn lead to four.

After an Alabama turnover, Samir Doughty calmly sank two free throws for Auburn to finish the scoring with 13 seconds left.

The Tigers grabbed their first lead of the night when J'Von McCormick hit a jump shot with 10:04 remaining in the second half. That put Auburn on top 47-45, and the Tigers increased their lead to 49-45 moments later on a dunk by Anfernee McLemore.

Auburn enjoyed an 11-0 run earlier in the second half to slice the deficit to 43-42 with 12:26 to go. Okeke hit a 3-pointer, and Malik Dunbar converted a three-point play during the comeback bid.

Alabama built a 34-23 lead at halftime thanks to a balanced scoring attack that included seven points apiece from Riley Norris and Mack along with six points from Lewis. The Crimson Tide shot 53.8 percent (14 of 26) before the break.

Okeke scored six points in the first half to lead Auburn, which shot only 32.3 percent (10 of 31) in the first 20 minutes.

Both teams have one game remaining on their regular-season slate. Alabama will hit the road to take on Arkansas on Saturday, and Auburn will head home to face No. 5 Tennessee, also on Saturday.

--Field Level Media