Auburn held off a late push by Ole Miss to advance to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. Denver Jones’ shooting efficiency helped the Tigers get the job done and avoid going one and done in Nashville.
Jones finished the game with 13 points, making him Auburn’s second-leading scorer behind Johni Broome, who had 23. Jones shot 5-of-8 from the field and 2-of-5 from 3-point range.
“Just wanted to come out aggressive, just looking for my shot, just playing basketball,” Jones said. “It just paid off today.”
Jones was not the only member of the Tigers to make an impact shooting. When Ole Miss’ Sean Pedulla tied the game with a lay-up with 6:56 left, Chaney Johnson buried a 3-pointer to put Auburn back in front.
“Man, that was a big shot,” Jones said. “I feel like we had a little slow stretch, especially with a lot of foul calls against us. They were shooting a lot of free throws. Chaney standing ready for that big opportunity, and he knocked down the shot.”
In addition to making an impact for Auburn on the scoreboard, Jones got the job done on defense. AU coach Bruce Pearl did not let Jones’ ability to contain opponents go uncredited.
“Denver was great in the first half. He’s always the best defensive player out there on the floor,” Pearl said.
This was Auburn’s third win over Ole Miss this season. The difficulty of besting a team three times in the same year is not lost on Jones and the Tigers.
“It’s pretty hard, especially in the conference we in,” Jones said. “Obviously they scouted us both times we played them. Playing them a third time, they would have most of our players pretty much scouted. Ole Miss is a tough team to play, the way they guard, the way they run the offense. But we just came out with the victory today.”
No one doubts the quality of the SEC and the Tigers will have to get the better of two more conference opponents to capture its second SEC Tournament Championship in a row.
Auburn takes on the winner of Tennessee/Texas on Saturday at noon inside Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.
