Auburn 13-1 after 94-84 win at Tennessee

Auburn guard Mustapha Heron (5) is defended under the basket by Tennessee forward Admiral Schofield, right, and Tennessee guard James Daniel III (3) in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018, in Knoxville, Tenn. Auburn won, 94-84. (AP Photo/Crystal LoGiudice)
Auburn guard Mustapha Heron (5) is defended under the basket by Tennessee forward Admiral Schofield, right, and Tennessee guard James Daniel III (3) in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018, in Knoxville, Tenn. Auburn won, 94-84. (AP Photo/Crystal LoGiudice)

KNOXVILLE - With just over three minutes remaining in Tuesday night's men's basketball game between Tennessee and Auburn, a fan took advantage of a quiet moment inside Thompson-Boling Arena.

"The FBI is coming, Bruce!" the fan yelled. "You're going to jail!"

It was Bruce Pearl's Tigers who got the last laugh, however, as the former Tennessee coach directed Auburn to a 94-84 victory over the No. 23 Volunteers in a game that took an increasingly familiar shape.

Tennessee (9-4) lost a double-digit first-half lead for the second game in a row as it began Southeastern Conference play 0-2. All four of the Volunteers' losses this season have come in games they led by nine or more points in the first half.

"They bullied us," Tennessee sophomore forward Grant Williams said.

A visit from No. 17 Kentucky is next for Tennessee on Saturday night, and a win will be required for the Vols to have any hope of continuing their first appearance in the Associated Press Top 25 since Pearl's tenure as coach.

Auburn's frontcourt was saddled with foul trouble all night. Still, the Tigers (13-1, 1-0) out-toughed the home team in the paint and on the glass as Pearl earned his first victory at Thompson-Boling Arena since he was fired from Tennessee after the 2010-11 season.

photo Tennessee forward Grant Williams (2) and Auburn forward Horace Spencer, right, fight for the ball in front of Auburn forward Desean Murray, behind, in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Crystal LoGiudice)

"It doesn't mean any more," Pearl said. "Being here is way more emotional. I've got so many great friends here I care so much about. I'm celebrating it because we got a road win against a nationally ranked team with an Auburn program that hasn't been very good in a while. That's why it's a big win."

The Tigers outrebounded Tennessee 46-38 while outscoring the Vols 28-18 in second-chance points and 38-28 in the paint.

A Kyle Alexander blocked shot led to a Lamonte Turner 3-pointer on the offensive end that put the Vols up 57-54 with 10:23 remaining. The sequence brought the crowd of 14,755 to its feet as the second half reached the midway point with the teams trading baskets and fouls.

As the crowd reached its loudest moment of the night, Tennessee forced a shot-clock violation.

For a moment, the Vols had the momentum and extended their lead to 61-56. Quickly, though, Auburn struck back, taking a 62-61 lead with 7:24 left on a driving layup by Jared Harper.

Tennessee never got the lead back, although Williams and Turner were heroic. Williams scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half, when Turner scored 20 of his game-high 25. Teammates scored only 11 second-half points.

The two weren't enough to slow the combination of offensive rebounds and hot shooting that Auburn presented late.

Consecutive 3-pointers by Chuma Okeke gave the Tigers their largest lead yet, 75-68, with 4:29 remaining. The second came following an offensive rebound.

Just over a minute later, Bryce Brown hit a 3-pointer on yet another second-chance opportunity to extend Auburn's lead to 80-68. Tennessee cut the deficit to 82-75 with 2:02 left, but Okeke promptly hit another 3-pointer to give Auburn another double-digit advantage before he fouled out with a minute to play.

"Defensively we were awful," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. "I've watched our team run heavy ball screens and we've done a great job getting through it. But we didn't do anything. I don't think anything on the stat sheet tells that. We're not going to be the team we want to be until we do it every day in practice, and we haven't had the time in practice we've needed, especially since coming back from Christmas."

Tennessee led 23-9 early as Auburn's big men had foul problems. Forwards Desean Murray and Okeke combined for just 19 minutes in the first half as Murray picked up three fouls and Okeke earned two for the Tigers.

Horace Spencer stepped up in their absence. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 15.3 minutes per game entering the contest but played 12 in the first half, pitching in eight points and six rebounds His thunderous dunk off a dish from Brown with 1:36 left in the first half gave the Tigers a 37-35 lead, which they expanded to 42-36 before halftime as they closed the frame on a 33-13 run.

Tennessee came out of the locker room with a heavy emphasis on Williams, who tied the game at 45 with a dunk at the 17:29 mark.

The Vols never regained the momentum that carried them to their 14-point first-half advantage.

"Even when we were making shots when we started the game, it was all fool's gold," Barnes said. "The way we started we didn't have the defensive intensity we needed."

Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com.

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