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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -- Auburn took nearly twice as many shots and
forced nearly three times the turnovers as Florida State.
|  | | Auburn's Chris Porter, left, amd Florida State's David Anderson go after a loose ball. |
All that, and still the Tigers (No. 8 in the newly released ESPN/USA Today rankings; No. 7 Associated Press) needed Doc Robinson's free throw with 2.3 seconds left to seal a 55-54 win Sunday, Auburn's 20th straight at home.
"Our defense really and truly dug down deep and won this
basketball game," said Cliff Ellis, who won his 100th game as
Auburn's coach against his alma mater.
The defense had to, because the Tigers (4-1) shot just 31
percent from the floor and missed six of eight free throws in the
second half. The Seminoles (3-3) committed 29 turnovers -- 14 by
point guard Delvon Arrington -- and forced just 11.
That more than countered the fact that Auburn took 67 shots to
Florida State's 37, making just three more. The Seminoles shot 49
percent and were 6-of-11 from 3-point range compared to 4-of-17 for
Auburn.
"You're not going to get a lot of shots if you're throwing it
away," said Florida State coach Steve Robinson, whose team has
lost to three teams currently ranked in the top 11. "They did a
tremendous job on the defensive end."
Doc Robinson agreed.
"Offensively, we struggled, but we did play hard," he said
after finishing with 17 points, five assists and three steals. "I
am just concerned with getting the victory and we did that."
The Tigers had 19 offensive rebounds while the Seminoles had
just five.
Ron Hale scored 15 points for Florida State, while Damous
Anderson had 12 and Adrian Crawford 11.
The Seminoles held Chris Porter in check for much of the game,
limiting the All-American to 9 points and five rebounds on 3-of-11
shooting. Porter still managed to come up big with three offensive
boards and two steals down the stretch.
Porter, who missed two free throws with Auburn clinging to a
one-point lead at the 2:26 mark, gave the Tigers a 54-51 lead on a
steal and layin with 1:10 left. He missed the free throw.
Robinson missed the front end of a 1-and-1 situation with 31
seconds to play after another Porter steal. Crawford then hit a
long 3-pointer over Reggie Sharp to tie it at 54 with 12 seconds
left.
Robinson drove for the potential winning basket but was fouled
by Arrington. He bounced his first free throw off the back of the
rim, but drained the second.
"I can't believe I missed the ones down the stretch," said
Robinson, an 80 percent free throw shooter coming in. "I did make
the one that counted, but I have to concentrate and follow
through."
Robinson didn't have a bucket in the second half until his
3-pointer with five minutes to play gave Auburn a 50-47 lead. He
followed that with a fallaway jumper and also had an alley-oop pass
to Porter.
But the Tigers missed four straight shots and led just 52-51
after Anderson's two free throws with 2:26 left.
"If we didn't have all these turnovers, it would have been a
different story today," Arrington said. "We didn't make execute
our plays and make our shots and Auburn did while it counted."
Ron Hale scored 15 points for the Seminoles. Anderson had 12
points and Crawford 11.
The Tigers forced 17 first-half turnovers, nabbing 10 steals.
But Auburn's lead was just 32-28 at halftime after getting
outshot 53 percent to 33 percent.
"Defensive wins are never pretty," Ellis said. "When the
shots start falling, then we'll be the potent team that we know we
can be."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Florida State Clubhouse
Auburn Clubhouse
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