Pearl gets 600th win with Auburn’s victory in season finale

<p>AUBURN, Ala. &mdash; Allen Flanigan scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half and Auburn pulled away late to beat Mississippi State 78-71 on Saturday and give Bruce Pearl his 600th coaching victory in the Tigers’ season finale.</p>
<p>With no seniors and just two upperclassmen on the roster, Auburn didn’t stage a Senior Day, and the Tigers (13-14, 7-11 Southeastern Conference) announced in November that they were self-imposing a postseason ban as a result of a long-running NCAA investigation. But they found reason to celebrate after the win over the Bulldogs as Pearl did a little dance at center court, surrounded by his players.</p>
<p>Pearl is the 63rd coach in Division I history and the 21st active coach to reach 600 wins. Pearl’s record over 26 years of coaching is 600-237. This is his seventh season at Auburn. </p>
<p>The lead went back and forth in the second half until Auburn grabbed the lead for good on a bucket by Jaylin Williams. The lead was seven after a Williams dunk with 47 seconds left. After a MSU basket, Auburn sank four straight free throws for a comfortable margin. </p>
<p>Williams scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half. Jamal Johnson scored 14 points with seven assists and JT Thor added 10 points and nine rebounds.</p>
<p>Auburn played its fourth straight game without freshman sensation Sharife Cooper, who sat out again with a sprained ankle. Cooper led the Tigers this season with a 20.2 points per game average in the 12 games he played. </p>
<p>Mississippi State (14-13, 8-10) finished the first half on a 10-2 run to lead 34-32 behind 13 points from Tolu Smith. </p>
<p>Auburn threw up 23 3-point attempts in the half and made six. The Tigers turned it around in the second half when they were 5 of 10 from the arc and shot 57% overall.</p>
<p>Smith finished with 20 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs, who move on to conference tournament. D.J. Stewart Jr. added 19 points and Iverson Molinar 17.</p>
<p>This game was originally supposed to be played on Feb. 16 but was postponed because of weather conditions.</p>
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