Bruce Pearl: ‘No excuse’ for 18-point loss to Texas A&M
No. 20 Texas A&M dominated the final 25 minutes of the game to beat Auburn 81-63.
AUBURN | Auburn led by 11 points late in the first half, and then it didn’t.
No. 20 Texas A&M put together an 8-0 run at the end of the first half and a 12-0 run to start the second half to bury the Tigers 81-63 Tuesday night at the Auburn Arena.
Texas A&M improves to 24-7 and 13-5 in the SEC while Auburn falls to 11-19 and 5-13.
“Texas A&M played like a champion and turned it on in the second half like you knew they would,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “Disappointed that we didn’t come out of there locker room to win that game.
“They just physically dominated us and there’s no excuse for that because we have plenty of size, plenty of seniors, but they manhandled us. That was disappointing.”
The Aggies dominated inside, with a 51-27 rebounding edge and a 38-24 edge in points in the paint. Texas A&M had nine dunks.
Tyler Harris led Auburn with 20 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the senior’s final game in the Auburn Arena. TJ Lang was the only other Tiger in double-figures with 10 points.
“I didn’t think I played well at all. It was real tough,” Harris said. “There’s a lot of things that we could have done better to help keep us in that game and make that a good game all the way to the end.”
TJ Dunans didn’t start after suffering a thigh contusion this weekend. He finished with eight points, two rebounds, seven assists and three steals in 29 minutes.
Danuel House led the Aggies with 19 points. Jalen Jones added 16 points and eight rebounds, and Tyler Davis 14 points and nine rebounds.
Auburn honored seniors Harris, Jordon Granger, Cinmeon Bowers, Cole Stockton and Jonathan Walker before the game.
“I thank the fans here so much for welcoming me in this home and here in the Auburn community,” said Harris, who enrolled at Auburn last summer as a graduate transfer. “Auburn will always have a place in my heart and I’m glad I chose this to be my last year to finish out my college career.”
Auburn will close out the regular season Saturday at Mississippi State. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.