Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Texas A&M 71, Auburn 62
When: 10:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Officials: # Tony Greene, # Joe Lindsay, # Anthony Jordan
Attendance: N/A


Texas A&M 71, Auburn 62: Elston Turner scored 22 points and the 11th-seeded Aggies had a successful debut in SEC tournament play, topping the No. 14 seed Tigers in the first-round game.

Texas A&M (18-14) advances to face sixth-seeded Missouri in Thursday's quarterfinals. Turner returned after missing the Aggies' regular-season finale with a hand injury.

Alex Caruso scored 14 points and tallied six assists for Texas A&M, while Fabyon Harris and Kourtney Roberson added 11 apiece.

The Tigers (9-23) got off to a good start, taking a 10-7 lead in the opening minutes, but the Aggies responded with a 17-3 run, including seven points by Turner and six by Caruso. Texas A&M stayed in front, though Auburn scored the last six points of the half to cut the deficit to seven.

The Tigers fought back to tie the score at 47 with 11:17 to go, but just 19 seconds later Harris hit a 3-pointer to put the Aggies ahead for good. Auburn tried to make a late run, but Texas A&M hit 11-of-12 free throws in the final two minutes to seal the victory.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Frankie Sullivan led Auburn with 19 points while Chris Denson added 15. … The Aggies dominated on the boards, 36-24, with Roberson leading the way with seven. … This was the third straight year Auburn has been one-and-done in the conference tournament under coach Tony Barbee, losing to Georgia in 2011 and to Mississippi in 2012.

Top Game Performances
 
Texas A&M   Auburn
Elston Turner 22 Scoring Frankie Sullivan 19
Alex Caruso 6 Assists Josh Wallace 4
Kourtney Roberson 7 Rebounds Asauhn Dixon-Tatum 6
Elston Turner 8 Free Throws Made Frankie Sullivan 8
Jordan Green 1 Steals Chris Denson 2
Kourtney Roberson 2 Blocks Asauhn Dixon-Tatum 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Texas A&M 71 44.9 6-16 21-26 12 31 4 2 10
Auburn 62 40.0 6-21 16-20 11 21 8 5 11