No. 2 Alabama rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to clinch the SEC regular-season title outright with a 90-85 overtime victory over visiting Auburn on Wednesday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Jahvon Quinerly collected a season-high 24 points and added six assists for Alabama, which trailed 66-49 with 10:27 left before ending regulation on a 26-9 run to send the game into overtime tied at 75.
Noah Clowney added 17 points, eight rebounds and two blocks for the Crimson Tide (26-4, 16-1 SEC), who earned their second outright conference regular-season crown in the past three seasons.
Brandon Miller and Mark Sears chipped in 17 points apiece, with Miller chipping in eight rebounds and three blocks as Alabama won for the eighth time in its past nine games.
Clowney opened the extra session with a dunk, and a 3-pointer by Sears gave the Crimson Tide an 80-75 lead with 4:23 left.
After Auburn pulled to within 87-85 with 35 seconds left, Jaden Bradley split a pair of free throws with 22.4 seconds remaining.
Clowney blocked K.D. Johnson’s layup with 11 seconds left, and Miller made two free throws to secure the win with 6.1 seconds to go.
The Crimson Tide shot 29 of 66 (43.9 percent) from the field, including 8 of 31 (25.8 percent) from beyond the arc.
Johnson scored 21 points to lead Auburn (19-11, 9-8), which has dropped six of its past eight games.
Allen Flanigan added 17 points and eight rebounds before fouling out, and Jaylin Williams scored 15 points for the Tigers.
Johni Broome finished with 10 points and five rebounds before fouling out.
Auburn shot 29 of 63 (46 percent) from the field, including a scorching 12 of 20 (60 percent) from beyond the arc.
Alabama opened the second half on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 42 following Sears’ 3-pointer with 18:27 to play. But the Tigers responded by going on a 14-2 run to take a 56-44 lead and stayed on top until the final two-plus minutes.
Auburn stretched its advantage to 66-49 before the Crimson Tide countered with a 24-7 run to tie the game at 73 after Clowney split a pair of free throws with 2:13 remaining.
Alabama took its first lead of the game on its next possession on Quinerly’s two free throws with 1:37 to go, before Flanigan’s layup tied the game at 75 with 55 seconds left.
–Field Level Media
