End of the line: JSU had NCAA upset hopes ... until Auburn decided otherwise

Mar. 18—GREENVILLE, S.C. — Saint Peter's beat Kentucky as a No. 15 seed Thursday, and for about 16 minutes, it looked like Jacksonville State might find the same magic against Auburn on Friday.

The Gamecocks hit five early 3-pointers, frustrated the Tigers, and made the country's basketball fans ask, "What if?"

It didn't last.

After some early struggles, second-seeded Auburn brought an onslaught that 15th-seeded JSU couldn't survive. Instead, the Tigers thrived in an 80-61 win in an NCAA tournament first-round game.

JSU led much of the way early, and with 3:47 left in the first half, the Gamecocks were still right in it. They trailed by only a point at 28-27 after Jalen Gibbs sank three straight foul shots.

But, four minutes into the second half, the Tigers led by 20 and were comfortably in control.

"That run at the end of the first half, the four minutes in the beginning of the second half was a lot to try to overcome," JSU coach Ray Harper said.

He added, "But until that 3:47 at the end of the half, we were right where we wanted to be."

Auburn (28-5) got 20 points, 14 rebounds and four assists from 6-foot-10 freshman forward Jabari Smith, and he led an offensive resurgence that took off after early struggles. Meanwhile, 7-1 sophomore center Walker Kessler provided the backstop for an aggressive defense that allowed only three 3-pointers in the final 25 minutes. He produced 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocked shots.

Harper called them two first-round NBA draft choices.

"Jabari one time, we were right there, he catches it at the elbow. We were supposed to double it, but we didn't. And he looks, and it's Jalen Finch on him," Harper said. "What's (Finch) going to do? He's too big. He's got a lot of Kevin Durant in him. I would say he's got a lot of that in his game, and boy is he going to be a great pro."

The Tigers never allowed the Gamecocks an opening after that game-changing run.

As an example of the power Auburn brought to bear on JSU as the game wore on, consider a late sequence. The Gamecocks had chipped the advantage to 15 with three minutes to go, as Harper's team was trying to make one more run:

—Kessler scored on a dunk.

—Devan Cambridge scored on a dunk.

—Smith then drove the lane and came up with a highlight dunk over JSU's Brandon Huffman.

And that was that for Jacksonville State. Without a second-half appearance of the 3-point threat that JSU has delivered much of the year, the Gamecocks struggled to stay with the athletic Tigers.

"I want to congratulate Jacksonville State and Coach Ray Harper from the great state of Alabama for an outstanding season," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "They're extremely well coached. They were prepared, and you could see how dangerous a team they are because of the way they can shoot it."

Gibbs paced the attack for JSU (21-11), scoring 20 points and grabbing six rebounds. Fellow JSU guard Jalen Finch added 17 points. Huffman had nine points and seven rebounds as the Gamecocks struggled to keep Auburn off the boards. The Tigers outrebounded JSU 50-32.

"I think we gave them too many open shots," Finch said. "As soon as that run started, it was hard to stop. That's probably why they ended up winning the game."

Harper said afterward that his team didn't quit.

"I've been around this team a lot," Harper added. "There was no way they were going to be intimidated or scared. They believed, and we believed we could win this basketball game. Because of the way Auburn played today, they're advancing.

"I had to watch them play over the last couple weeks. I don't know if they had played as well over the last couple weeks as they did today."

Pearl credited his team's defense.

"That's been what's carried us all season long," he said. "That gives us our best chance in a tournament. We stepped up. We played better, as we talked about (Thursday). I thought the guys did a terrific job sharing the basketball and making the extra pass and making each other better.

"We had to play well to beat that team, and we played well."

Senior Editor Mark Edwards: 256-235-3570. On Twitter: @MarkSportsStar.