National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Auburn 73, Louisiana State 70
When: 3:30 PM ET, Friday, March 13, 2015
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Officials: # Lee Cassell, # Tim Gattis, # Antinio Petty
Attendance: 18205

Auburn 73, LSU 70 (OT): KT Harrell matched his career high with 29 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer in the final second of regulation, as Auburn continued its Cinderella run in the SEC tournament with a comeback quarterfinal victory in Nashville, Tenn.

Harrell finished 5-of-11 from the field, including four 3-pointers, and hit 15-of-18 free throws for 13th-seeded Auburn (15-19), which has upset three higher seeds on consecutive days to set up a Saturday semifinal date with top-ranked and unbeaten Kentucky. Malcolm Canada added 14 points while Cinmeon Bowers had seven points and a team-high 10 rebounds for Auburn, which hit 7-of-16 triples and did not hold a lead until pulling ahead 66-64 just 1:15 into overtime.

Keith Hornsby had 24 points to pace fourth-seeded LSU (22-10), which was coming off a double-bye after winning four of five to close the regular season. The Tigers – who also received 18 points and a career high-matching 16 rebounds from Jarell Martin as well as 13 points from Jalyn Patterson – shot 35.8 percent from the field, missed 19-of-44 foul shots and got only one point and eight rebounds from second-leading scorer Jordan Mickey, who fouled out with 5:12 left in regulation.

LSU, which took a 28-24 advantage into the second half thanks to Hornsby’s 17 points in the opening 20 minutes, nudged its lead to 46-40, but Auburn scored eight of the next 10 points to tie it at 48 with 9:55 remaining. LSU owned a seven-point edge with 6:27 to play, but Auburn pulled within 62-61 on three Harrell free throws with 57.7 seconds left and following an LSU shot-clock violation, Canada had a layup attempt swatted away by Martin while Patterson drained a pair of free throws to set up Harrell’s game-tying 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 0.7 seconds to play.

Harrell opened the extra period with four free throws and Antoine Mason followed with a pair of buckets, including a fast-break dunk to put Auburn ahead 72-65. Patterson answered with a 3-pointer, Josh Gray followed with a layup and after K.C. Ross-Miller hit one of two free-throw attempts, LSU missed three 3-point attempts sandwiched around a pair of missed free throws by Harrell.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
Auburn F Jordon Granger was assessed a Flagrant-2 foul for throwing a punch and was ejected with 13:48 remaining in regulation. He finished with eight points and five rebounds. … Auburn advanced to the SEC tournament semifinals for the first time since 2009. …Harrell has 73 points in Auburn’s three tourney wins, including a 31-of-39 performance from the free-throw line.
Top Game Performances
 
Auburn   Louisiana State
KT Harrell 29 Scoring Keith Hornsby 24
K.C. Ross-Miller 5 Assists Jalyn Patterson 3
Cinmeon Bowers 10 Rebounds Jarell Martin 16
KT Harrell 15 Free Throws Made Jarell Martin 8
KT Harrell 2 Steals Jalyn Patterson 2
Malcolm Canada 2 Blocks Darcy Malone 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Auburn 73 37.5 7-16 24-36 12 35 2 7 12
Louisiana State 70 35.8 7-17 25-44 11 40 8 5 17