Tigers grab first win in conference

AUBURN, Ala. - It's no fun losing your first five conference games, even for a team with four freshmen starters.

The Auburn Tigers got a chance to start having fun Saturday as they held on to defeat Georgia, 66-65, for their first Southeastern Conference win.

"It means a lot. We have been struggling lately," freshman Josh Dollard said. "People tell us that wins will come, that we are a young team and to just keep on playing. As a team, we're tired of hearing that."

Auburn (9-8, 1-5) won't have to hear about losing for at least a few days. Ronny LeMelle hit two clutch free throws with 22.9 seconds to seal Auburn's second-half comeback.

The 0-5 SEC start was the Tigers' worst since they started the 1993-94 conference season 0-10.

LeMelle hit his shots after freshman Quantez Robertson had missed six free throws in the final minute, which prevented the Tigers from putting the game away.

Lemelle's free throws gave the Tigers a 66-62 lead. Georgia's Levi Stukes hit a 3 at the buzzer.

Dollard led Auburn with 16 points, and Frank Tolbert had 13.

Georgia (12-8, 2-5) led 30-28 at halftime, but Auburn took a 38-37 lead with 13:17 left and wouldn't fall behind again. Georgia trailed by as many as seven in the final minutes as three Bulldogs fouled out of the game.

The Tigers were able to stretch the lead partly because of the play of Korvotney Barber, who excited the crowd with three tip-ins within one minute midway through the second half. He scored nine points before fouling out.

Georgia's Sundiata Gaines was the game's leading scorer with 18 points, while Stukes had 16 and Mike Mercer 12.

Georgia coach Dennis Felton blamed the loss on Auburn's ability to rebound and get second shots.

Georgia did not score its first field goal until the 13:54 mark, when Stukes hit a 3-pointer and ignited a 21-10 Georgia run.