AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn overcame a 15-point second-half deficit and had two chances to take the lead in the final seconds before falling to Arkansas 54-51 Sunday at Neville Arena, ending the Tigers' three-game SEC win streak.
"We played hard in the second half," Auburn coach
Johnnie Harris said. "We closed that gap, we got steals, we caused turnovers, we caused them to rush shots. This is the way we want to play."
Kaitlyn Duhon's jump shot with 51 seconds remaining tied the score at 51-51. The Tigers rebounded a missed Arkansas shot but committed an immediate turnover, leading to a foul on Auburn and an Arkansas free throw with seven seconds left.
Trailing 52-51, Auburn called timeout to advance the ball. After a video review, Arkansas was called for an intentional foul before the inbounds pass, giving the Tigers two free throws and possession.
Auburn missed both free throws, then was unable to inbound the ball before five seconds elapsed, giving the ball back to Arkansas.
"That's not what beat us," Harris said of the costly final sequence. "We had a lot of things. This hurts because we didn't execute down the stretch."
After an Auburn foul, the Razorbacks made two free throws with four seconds left to lead by three.
Aicha Coulibaly's attempt at a game-tying 3-pointer from the logo at the buzzer was off the mark, a disappointing ending to a game in which Auburn never led.
The Tigers rallied valiantly after making only 1 of 16 shots and committing eight turnovers in the first quarter while falling behind 16-5.
Leading by 13 at the half, Arkansas scored the opening basket of the third quarter to go up 34-19, the visitors' largest lead.
Jakayla Johnson made Auburn's only 3-pointer of the game and scored seven of Auburn's 15 points in the quarter to help the Tigers pull within eight points at 42-34 heading to the final period.
"I thought (Auburn's bench) came in and pressured the ball," Harris said. "They got after it like I wanted to from the beginning and brought us back."
Duhon made one of two free throws to tie the score at 44-44 with 4:24 to play. Erynn Barnum, who led all scorers with 14 points, answered 16 seconds later to give Arkansas a lead the Razorbacks would not relinquish until Duhon's game-tying bucket in the final minute.
Honesty Scott-Grayson led Auburn with 11 points while Duhon grabbed seven rebounds to pace the Tigers.
"Having a mentality of not quitting," Scott-Grayson said of the Tigers' comeback effort. "Fighting to stay in the game. Having that mentality of trying to stay together and get the job done."
Auburn turned up the defensive intensity in the fourth quarter, holding Arkansas to two field goals on 16 attempts, but the Tigers committed five turnovers in the final quarter and were 7 of 14 from the free-throw line.
"At the end of the day, we're 14 of 27 on free throws," Harris said. "We got to the line, we just didn't make them. We missed 13. If we make five of those, it's a different ballgame."
The Tigers conclude their three-game homestand Thursday at 7 p.m. CT vs. No. 1 South Carolina.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
