AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Wendell Green Jr. scored 22 points and No. 13 Auburn reeled off 11 straight in the closing minutes for a 65-60 victory over Saint Louis on Sunday.
The Tigers (7-0) rallied from a five-point deficit over the final five minutes, starting with back-to-back drives by K.D. Johnson and ending with Green's scoop shot in traffic.
The Billikens (5-2) missed six straight shots before Yuri Collins' drive with 20 seconds left. Then Jaylin Williams turned it over with an errant inbounds pass.
But Gibson Jimerson missed a long jumper for Saint Louis and Green went 1 for 2 at the line.
Auburn closed the game on a 12-2 run and held Saint Louis to 23 points below its season scoring average.
Green rebounded from a 1-of-9, two-point struggle against Northwestern in the Cancun Challenge to score 14 in the first half. Johni Broome finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and eight blocked shots.
Javon Pickett led Saint Louis with 16 points before fouling out in the final seconds. Gibson scored 12, going 4 for 9 from 3-point range. Collins, who is leading the nation in assists for the second straight season, had 10 points and nine assists.
Collins found Francis Okoro for an uncontested dunk to give Saint Louis its biggest lead at 58-53 with 4:43 to play. Then Auburn took over.
Johnson's drive broke a nearly five-minute field goal drought for the Tigers, who had been in a 2-of-13 shooting funk.
BIG PICTURE
Saint Louis: The Billikens hung in throughout their first true road game of the season. Their only previous loss was to current No. 23 Maryland. Made just 4 of 14 free throws, and missed 10 of 11 second-half attempts.
Auburn: The Tigers have won 43 consecutive nonconference home games and 23 straight at Neville Arena overall. Had 11 blocked shots.
UP NEXT
Saint Louis hosts Tennessee State on Wednesday night.
Auburn hosts Colgate on Friday night.
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