Sebastian Saiz goes up for a shot in a game earlier this season against Mississippi State. (Photo by: Cameron Brooks)
Head coach Andy Kennedy didn’t want to disclose what he said to his team that was down by 20 to Auburn at halftime, but whatever it was certainly hit home because the Rebels erased a lethargic opening 20 minutes and a 23-point deficit to beat Auburn 90-84.
“Obviously, when you’re down as much as we were, you’ve got to throw caution to the wind and put guys out there that you feel like can ignite you, and that’s what we did to start the second half,” Kennedy said.
That proverbial spark came in the form of Terence Davis, who went 11-13 from the field and dropped 26 second-half points to energize the Rebels as the comeback made its ascent. Cullen Neal followed with 20 of his own, and Deandre Burnett added 18.
“My mindset. I came into the game and was into myself. I got into foul trouble early; that was the main reason I came off the bench. Obviously that didn’t work,” Davis said. “I gathered myself in the locker room and came out in the second half strong.”
In an effort to keep him out of foul trouble, Kennedy didn’t start Davis. That proved to be futile because Davis spent most of the first half on the bench with two fouls. But his explosion in the final 20 minutes was vital for an Ole Miss team that is now 15-10 and 6-6 in SEC play.
“In the open floor, he’s as good as we’ve got,” Kennedy said. “In the open floor he’s got the ability to contort his body and make plays. Obviously, he is athletic and can make plays going north and south. We try to get him there, but in order to do that you’ve got to defend. You’ve got to defensive rebound and you’ve got to make good decisions.”
The first half was a poor one for Ole Miss. Auburn took a 47-27 lead into the break, largely due to shooting 58 percent from the field and canning eight three-pointers. The Tigers moved the ball at will against the Rebels’ zone. Ronnie Johnson had 18 points in the game to lead Auburn, and Mustapha Heron scored 16.
Ole Miss went just 9-33 in the first half, but the final 20 minutes were a far different story, as the Rebels went 20-32 and scored 63 points to cap the comeback. They cut into the lead quickly, dwindling it to just nine points with 12 minutes left to play. Ole Miss continued to chip away until it rattled off a 15-4 run that began around the six-minute mark to take a 78-73 and grab control of the game.
“This is the most disappointing loss that I’ve had at Auburn in my two-and-a-half years,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. “Ole Miss played great in the second half and deserved to win.”
A frustrated Pearl pointed out the Rebels being the more aggressive team, getting to the free-throw line more often. Ole Miss shot 31 free throws to Auburn’s eight, making 27 of them.
“You’ve got to take the ball into contact. They did. We did not, and I thought that was the difference,” Pearl said. “We also turned it over too much and didn’t get back in transition. They scored a lot of points in transition that they didn’t in the first half.”
Davis and the Rebels preyed on the Auburn miscues, running the floor and scoring on the fast break. That was why they were able to tie the largest comeback in school history, trailing by as many as 23 points in the game.
“We had to start playing. It was a goal of ours to come out and guard as hard as we could,” Neal said. “We just wanted to keep attacking and being aggressive. We knew we were going to keep making runs, and we just wanted to keep it going.”
