AUBURN, Ala. (AP) Auburn rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to top an upset-minded Texas Southern team, 61-60, on Tuesday night.
Cinmeon Bowers finally found his game late in the second half, shaking off a rough first half to finish with a double-double effort of 13 points and 15 rebounds as the Tigers (6-5) claimed their third straight win.
With Auburn trailing 58-55 with less than two minutes remaining in the game, Bowers blocked a Madarious Gibbs shot then finished with a layup to pull Auburn within a point. K.C. Ross-Miller then stole an errant Deverell Biggs pass and KT Harrell finished with a putback to give Auburn its first lead since 10-8 with 13:51 left in the first half.
Auburn scored 15 points off turnovers in the second half.
Harrell led Auburn with 14 points, Antoine Mason scored 13 and Ross-Miller, who drained two game-winning free throws with 14 seconds left, added 11.
Texas Southern (2-9) was led by Jason Carter's 16 points and five rebounds. Gibbs scored 13 and Chris Thomas had 11 for the Tigers, who were unable to pick up their second straight win over a power conference foe after topping Michigan State on Saturday.
The visiting Tigers took a seven-point lead after a 9-0 run over a period of 5:25 in the first half, and would not relinquish the lead until Harrell's putback with 1:25 left in the second period.
Bowers had a miserable first half, starting out 1-of-6 from the floor, but he shot 50 percent in the second half to give the home-standing Tigers a lift. He also finished with three blocks and three steals.
TIP-INS
Texas Southern: Turnovers were a killer for Texas Southern, as they turned the ball over seven times after taking the 11-point lead with 12:47 to go. The visiting Tigers trailed for only 3:01 in the game.
Auburn: With Bowers, Harrell, Mason and Ross-Miller all reaching double digits, the Tigers moved to 6-0 on the young season when four or more players score in double figures. They are 0-5 when three or fewer do so.
UP NEXT:
Auburn hosts Middle Tennessee State on Monday
Texas Southern travels to Kansas State on Sunday.
