Field Level Media
Nov 22, 2018
No. 8 Auburn ripped off 11 consecutive points to blow open a close game Wednesday night and defeat Arizona 73-57 for third place in the Maui Invitational at Lahaina, Hawaii.
Bryce Brown led the Tigers (5-1) with a game-high 19 points, going 4-for-8 from the 3-point arc. Malik Dunbar shot 6-for-7 from the field and added 15 off the bench, while Chuma Okeke chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.
Brandon Randolph paced the Wildcats (4-2) with 18 points, while Justin Coleman scored 16 and Chase Jeter netted 14 points. While Randolph and Coleman combined for nine 3-pointers in 15 tries, the rest of the team was 1 of 10 from long range.
Arizona as a whole made just 42.6 percent of its field-goal attempts and committed 19 turnovers that led to 24 points. Auburn gave the ball away 15 times.
Leading 55-51 with 7:22 left after Jeter converted a layup, Auburn went on its game-breaking run. Samir Doughty drilled a 3-pointer to start it, and Horace Spencer followed with a three-point play. Doughty dunked off a turnover, and Brown capped the spurt with a 3-pointer for a 66-51 advantage with just over five minutes remaining.
The first half was marked by poor shooting and a spate of mistakes. Arizona coughed it up 13 times and Auburn committed 10 turnovers. The Tigers ended the half making just 40.7 percent of their field-goal tries, and the Wildcats hit only 38.1 percent.
Arizona led just once for 50 seconds into the half. Auburn took command with a 12-2 run, establishing a 14-5 edge at the 11:29 mark when Jared Harper converted a reverse layup in transition. A Dunbar 3-pointer with 9:42 left upped the margin to 19-9.
The Wildcats rattled off eight consecutive points, cutting their deficit to two points as Coleman connected on a step-back jumper with 3:37 on the clock to make it 24-22. But a Brown bucket off an Arizona turnover enabled the Tigers to take a 28-22 advantage to halftime.
The game was the last in the career of veteran official Ed Corbett, who is retiring after more than 30 years and 26 NCAA Tournaments, six Final Fours and four championship games.
--Field Level Media