AUBURN, Ala. — Gavin Ware scored 16 points and added a season-high 17 rebounds Wednesday night to help the Mississippi State men’s basketball team end a 22-game road losing streak with a 78-71 win against Auburn at Auburn Arena.
I.J. Ready scored 18 points and had eight rebounds to help the Bulldogs (9-9, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) earn their second-consecutive conference win.
“I know (the streak) is talked about by the media and the other people, but we just don’t talk about it,” MSU coach Rick Ray said. “We talk about a game-by-game basis because, to be honest, a lot of these guys in the program don’t know what the losing streak is.”
MSU suffocated Auburn (10-8, 2-3 SEC) for much of the first half, limiting the Tigers to 27-percent shooting and forcing 12 turnovers. The effort helped them earn their first road win since a 72-61 win Jan. 12, 2013, at Georgia.
“We showed the guys some tape from the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks game,” Ray said. “We talked about how important it is to do your assignment. It’s the most important thing.”
Auburn didn’t hit a field goal in the final 8 minutes, 18 seconds of the half, which allowed MSU to use a 14-1 run to build a 31-22 halftime lead. Fred Thomas and Demetrius Houston had six points off the bench.
“(Houston) really has a lot of athletic ability and he’s really good in the open court,” Ray said. “I was glad for him to have some success.”
MSU shot 50 percent from the field in the second half and led by as many as 18.
But Auburn scrapped back and cut the lead to two with less than two minutes remaining. However, the Bulldogs went 8 of 10 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes to seal the deal. Ready and Thomas hit four free throws apiece down the stretch.
Cinmeon Bowers posted his SEC-leading 12th double-double of the season with 16 points and 17 rebounds. KT Harrell scored 22 points and made four 3-pointers.
“(Ware) was able to match Cinmeon Bowers,” Ray said. “I kind of teased him telling him ‘You got 17 rebounds, but you gave up 17 rebounds, so you really only got zero.’ ”
The loss ended a seven-game home win streak for the Tigers, and was just the second home loss of the Bruce Pearl era.
Ware posted his 11th career double-double, while Ready matched his career high with a team-high 18 points. Craig Sword (three steals, five assists) and Thomas finished with 10 points.
“We did what we wanted to do defensively in the first half,” Ray said. “In the second half, it got away from us for a little while. We knew they would put their head down and drive and it is hard to defend a team playing out of desperation. But we came out with a sense of urgency ourselves and really played with the mind-set and mental toughness we needed to play with to win a game on the road in this league.”
MSU erased an early 7-0 deficit with a 12-0 run. A Thomas 3-pointer extended the lead to 15-10. Auburn then scored on back-to-back possessions to take a 21-17 lead.
MSU followed with another 12-0 run. Travis Daniels had a putback basket and Sword helped cap off the run with a drive to the basket.
A capacity crowd was energized after the home team cut the deficit to 33-27 in the opening minute of the second half. But MSU answered thanks to a dunk and two free throws by Roquez Johnson to cap an 11-0 run that gave MSU a 44-27 lead with 16:38 left.
MSU was 26 of 56 from the field (46.4 percent), 5 of 15 from 3-point range (33.3), and 21 of 31 from the free-throw line (67.7). Auburn was 25 of 62 from the field (40.3), 8 of 26 from 3-point range (30.8), and 13 of 23 from the free-throw line (56.5).
“On offense, we did a really good job against their press,” Ray said. “We wanted to throw the ball deep and get some easy baskets. Gavin had a great night and did the things that we need him to do every night. I.J. is such a calming, steady influence out there. You know he is going to make the plays you need him to make.”
MSU held a 44-33 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 11 assists and 17 turnovers, while the Tigers had 11 assists and 12 turnovers.
Auburn received 22 points from K.T. Harrell led Auburn with 22 points, while Cinmeon Bowers had 16 points and 17 rebounds and Antoine Mason has 10.
“Proud of the way the kids bounced back. Proud of the way they competed,” Pearl said. “Too many empty possessions in the first half. We didn’t take care of the basketball. We were sloppy in our half-court execution. It was a really, really disappointing performance.”
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