AU HOOPS: Tigers fall to N.C. State in close game

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — N.C. State’s Tracy Smith banked in a 5-footer in the lane with 1.3 seconds to go after a Julius Mays missed 3-pointer from the corner to give the Wolfpack a 60-58 victory over Auburn on Sunday in the Glenn Wilkes Classic at the Ocean Center.

Frankie Sullivan scored a game-high 21 points and went 6-of-11 from 3-point range while recording his career-best string of three straight 20-plus point games.

Lucas Hargrove inbounded the ball under the Tigers basket, throwing it to Sullivan, who caught it shy of midcourt and didn’t get his shot off in time.

Sullivan made his career-best sixth 3-pointer with 1:58 to play to break a 51-51 tie, giving the Tigers a 54-51 lead. Dennis Horner answered with a 3-pointer for the Wolfpack to tie it at 54-54 13 seconds later. An Earnest Ross driving layup put the Tigers back in front 56-54 with 1:01 to play, setting up the final second heroics.

“It is just a heartbreaker,” said Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo. “We had a chance to win it. They hurt us on the offensive boards tonight. That was the big difference. We got them to miss the first ones and the 50-50 balls they were bigger and stronger.

“We did a good job on Tracy Smith’s first ones, but the second ones, he just manhandled us and made the big play at the end. That was the toughest shot he had of the night and banked it in. Free-throw shooting, 5-of-15 in a close game, offensive rebounds, two 3-second calls in the last three minutes of the game that they called. Those kind of things hurt you.”

Smith, the tournament’s MVP, finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds. He made a conventional 3-point play to allow the Wolfpack to regain the lead at 57-56 with 50 seconds remaining. Sullivan missed a trey on Auburn’s next possession, and following a Tiger offensive rebound, Reed missed a 3-pointer short of the rim, but Hargrove collected the ball and laid it in to tie it at 58 with 12.4 seconds left.

“If you were at the game, they won it on the offensive boards,” said Sullivan. “Coach was pushing everybody the whole tournament, and I don’t think we are going hard enough on the boards as team as a whole. One person plays good at this game and two people another game. We need the whole team to play good every game in order for us to get some wins.

“I think we are going to have to go back and regroup and talk together as a team, then everybody will know what to do. Right now, we are bad as a team trying to get all of the pieces together to play as a team, and that is what is killing us right now.”

After scoring the final 4 points of the first half to take a 26-25 halftime lead, N.C. State (4-0) continued with 7 straight points, closing an 11-0 run with a 35-25 lead almost three minutes in.

The Wolfpack grew their lead to 39-28 after three straight offensive rebounds, capping the possession with a C.J. Williams putback layup.

Auburn (2-3) answered with 10 straight points, capped on a Sullivan 4-point play, to draw the Tigers to within 39-38 with 11:31 to play. Sullivan’s fifth trey of the game enabled Auburn to regain the lead at 43-41 and then DeWayne Reed nailed another 3-pointer on the Tigers’ next possession for a 46-43 lead.

An Andre Malone free throw and a Johnnie Lett tip-in gave the Tigers their largest lead at 49-43, ending a 21-4 run in just over seven minutes midway through the second half.

Auburn held N.C. State scoreless for 5:35 and only 4 points in 11 minutes from the 15:41 mark to the 4:39 mark in the second half.

Reed and Sullivan were both named to the All-Tournament team.

Auburn returns home to play High Point (2-1) on Wednesday at 6 p.m in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.