National Basketball Association
Middle Tennessee St. 88, Auburn 81
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 12, 2015
Where: Murphy Athletic Center, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Officials:
# John Hampton, # Keith Kimble, # Doug Simmons
Attendance:
7322
By The Sports Xchange
Junior forward Reggie Upshaw matched career highs with 21 points and 13 rebounds as Middle Tennessee blew a six-point lead in the final 1:28 before defeating Auburn 88-81 in overtime on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
Guard Giddy Potts scored 18 points and forward Darnell Harris recorded 13 points -- six in overtime -- and nine rebounds for the Blue Raiders (6-2), who rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit.
Guard Edward Simpson scored 13 points and forward Perrin Bufford added 12 points and six rebounds as Middle Tennessee improved to 73-12 since the start of the 2011-12 season when scoring 60 or more points.
Guard Kareem Canty matched a career high with 28 points -- including the tying 3-pointer to force overtime with 1.7 seconds left -- for the Tigers (4-2), who had their three-game winning streak halted. Canty made four of his career-best eight 3-pointers in the final 1:55 of regulation.
Forward Cinmeon Bowers recorded a season-high 19 points and a career-best 19 rebounds while forward Tyler Harris added 14 points and a career-high 13 rebounds before fouling out with 2:40 remaining in overtime for Auburn.
Tyler Harris registered 12 points and nine rebounds in the first half and his tip-in at the buzzer gave the Tigers a 38-29 lead at the break. The Blue Raiders came out of the break with a 14-3 run -- capped by Darnell Harris' basket and highlighted by Simpson's two 3-pointers and Upshaw's six points.
Middle Tennessee increased its lead to 67-61 with 2:42 left on Upshaw's bucket off a lob pass from Potts. Canty scored Auburn's final 12 points of regulation.
Bowers' free throw gave the Tigers a 78-75 lead with 3:32 left in overtime before the Blue Raiders scored eight consecutive points -- capped by Buford's breakaway dunk on a pass from Potts.
After Kanty's layup cut the deficit to 83-81 with 1:02 remaining, Middle Tennessee went 5 for 6 from the free-throw line in the final 28 seconds with Darnell Harris going 4 for 4 as the Blue Raiders defeated Auburn for the first time in four tries.
Top Game Performances
Auburn |
|
Middle Tennessee St. |
Kareem Canty 28 |
Scoring |
Reggie Upshaw Jr. 21 |
Kareem Canty 7 |
Assists |
Reggie Upshaw Jr. 4 |
Cinmeon Bowers 19 |
Rebounds |
Reggie Upshaw Jr. 13 |
Cinmeon Bowers 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Giddy Potts 6 |
T.J. Dunans 3 |
Steals |
Reggie Upshaw Jr. 3 |
T.J. Dunans 1 |
Blocks |
Darnell Harris 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Auburn
|
81 |
40.0 |
10-26 |
11-24 |
12 |
46 |
2 |
5 |
14 |
Middle Tennessee St.
|
88 |
45.5 |
8-22 |
20-30 |
14 |
46 |
3 |
5 |
11 |