National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Florida 71, Auburn 66
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Where: Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida
Officials: # Ron Groover, # Keith Kimble, # Jamie Luckie
Attendance: 12414

No. 2 Florida 71, Auburn 66: Patric Young scored all 17 of his points in the second half, including a pair of tiebreaking free throws with 19.4 seconds left, as the host Gators won their school-record 18th consecutive game.

Casey Prather added 16 points and nine rebounds and Scottie Wilbekin scored 15 points as Florida (24-2, 13-0 SEC) remained unbeaten in conference play and extended its home winning streak to 30 games. Michael Frazier II chipped in nine points and buried a huge 3-pointer in the final minute.

Freshman Tahj Shamsid-Deen hit five 3-pointers en route to a season high-tying 17 points for Auburn (12-12, 4-9), which was unable to hold an eight-point halftime lead despite hitting 10-of-19 3-pointers. Chris Denson scored 15 points and backcourt mate KT Harrell added 14 for the Tigers, who fell to 1-17 in their last 18 against the Gators.

Florida used a 7-0 run to forge ahead 54-51 with just under nine minutes remaining, but Allen Payne and Harrell hit 3-pointers as Auburn rallied to reclaim the lead. Two free throws by Denson gave the Tigers a 65-63 edge, but Frazier drilled a 3-pointer to put the Gators on top by a point with 40.5 seconds left.

Denson split a pair of free throws to tie it with 20.7 seconds to play and the Tigers immediately fouled Young, who canned both free throws before Wilbekin knocked down two more following a turnover to end the upset bid. Auburn went ahead in the first half with a 12-0 burst and closed the half on an 11-3 run, capped by another 3-pointer by Shamsid-Deen to take a 38-30 lead into the locker room.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Shamsid-Deen buried four of his 3-pointers in the first half alone as the Tigers connected on 6-of-9 from long range in the opening 20 minutes. ... Gators F Dorian Finney-Smith finished with three points and missed all four 3-point attempts, extending his drought to 0-for-17 from behind the arc. ... Denson came up short in his bid to become the first Auburn player to score 25 points in five straight games since Keenan Carpenter in 1988-89.
Top Game Performances
 
Auburn   Florida
Tahj Shamsid-Deen 17 Scoring Patric Young 17
Chris Denson 5 Assists Scottie Wilbekin 4
Asauhn Dixon-Tatum 7 Rebounds Casey Prather 9
Chris Denson 5 Free Throws Made Patric Young 7
Malcolm Canada 1 Steals Casey Prather 2
Asauhn Dixon-Tatum 2 Blocks Patric Young 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Auburn 66 47.8 10-19 12-17 11 20 2 4 9
Florida 71 40.0 8-24 23-28 14 31 3 3 9