Auburn knocks off No. 18 Ole Miss

AUBURN, ALABAMA - Frank Tolbert scored 29 points and DeWayne Reed had 21, both career highs, to lead Auburn to an 80-77 victory over No. 18 Mississippi on Saturday, keeping the Rebels from matching the best start in school history.

Quantez Robertson's 3-pointer from the right corner broke a 70-all tie with 1 minute left for the Tigers (11-5, 2-2 Southeastern Conference).

Eniel Polynice of Mississippi (15-2, 2-2) then missed a 3 at the other end. Tolbert made four straight free throws and Auburn went 7-of-10 from the line over the final 39 seconds to keep Ole Miss from tying after twice pulling within three points.

Ole Miss was trying to match its 16-1 start in the 1925-26 season but fell short with yet another close one in the SEC. The Rebels' first four league games have been decided by a total of 10 points.

Reed had a career-high 20 points in Auburn's win over LSU on Wednesday night, and promptly topped that. He was 4-of-7 on 3-pointers and Auburn hit 10 of its 19 attempts from beyond the arc.

Tolbert was 9-of-11 from the field and 9-of-12 from the line. Lucas Hargrove added 10 points for the Tigers, all in the first half.

Freshman Chris Warren led Mississippi with 25 points, including going 7-of-14 on 3-pointers. Dwayne Curtis, a former Auburn player, had his eighth double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Reserve Zach Graham added 12 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes for Ole Miss, which shot just 39 percent.

Reed and Tolbert carried the Tigers back from a six-point deficit in the second half. They scored every Auburn point in a 16-3 run capped by Reed's drive for a 70-63 lead with 5 minutes left. The Rebels were 1-of-12 from the field during that stretch.

The bigger Rebels then went inside for consecutive baskets by Kenny Williams, and got a 3-pointer from Warren to tie it at 70 with 3:01 to play.

The Rebels trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half before taking a 44-42 halftime lead on a drive by Polynice with 1 second left. His first shot was blocked by Quan Prowell, who threw it right back to Polynice while trying to keep the ball inbounds.