|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Reserve Ron Slay scored 22 and grabbed
11 rebounds Thursday as Tennessee beat Auburn 73-66 in the first
round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
|  | | Ron Slay came off the Tennessee bench and thundered home 22 points. |
The Volunteers (22-9), whose winning streak improved to four
games, had not won a league tournament game since the first round
of the 1998 tournament against LSU.
Marcus Haislip, another reserve, added 11 points and Vincent
Yarbrough had seven points and 11 rebounds.
Tennessee (No. 24 ESPN/USA Today), which had been a top seed the past two seasons, will
face Mississippi, the winner of the SEC West, on Friday.
The Tigers (17-13), the runners-up to Arkansas in last year's
tournament, were led by Adam Harrington with 25 points, including
11-of-12 from the foul line. Jamison Brewer and reserve Lincoln
Glass each had 14 points.
The Vols, after seeing their 13-point halftime lead evaporate,
regained the lead at 54-53 and didn't trail again after Terrence
Woods hit a 3 and Haislip followed with a layup with 6:07 left.
Auburn responded with four straight free throws by Abdou Diame
and Harrington that tied it at 57 with 4:27 to go.
Slay scored his second basket of the second half and then made
two free throws when he was fouled at the other end by Kyle Davis,
his fifth. The Vols were up 61-57 with 3:37 left, and Tennessee
came alive.
Haislip had a block and then slammed in the lob from Slay at the
other end. Yarbrough blocked Glass' 3-point attempt and then tipped
in Slay's miss as the Vols looked in control with 1:59 to go and a
65-59 lead.
Auburn got as close as five after Harrington's basket with 1:03
to go.
Trailing by as many as 19, Auburn closed to within 38-25 at
halftime and started the second half with a 15-1 run to take the
lead for the first time. Brewer's 3 with 12:11 put the Tigers ahead
40-39, and the Vols were struggling.
Tennessee missed the first eight shots of the second half then
finally scored a field goal on Haislip's dunk with 11:15 remaining.
Tennessee jumped out to a 26-8 lead after Slay's 3 with 10:45 to
go, but its offensive started to waver late in the first half.
Auburn is 6-7 in the SEC tournament under coach Cliff Ellis
while Tennessee is 2-3 under coach Jerry Green.
 Send this story to a friend
|
|
ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Auburn Clubhouse
Tennessee Clubhouse
|
