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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ATLANTA (AP) -- On the bus ride to the Georgia Dome, the Auburn
Tigers (No. 23 ESPN/USA Today) learned that Chris Porter's college career was over. If they keep playing like they did Friday night, they'll do just fine
without him.
|  | | Auburn's Daymeon Fishback gathers a loose ball in front of Brent Wright. |
Daymeon Fishback, hobbled by a sore knee, had 21 points and 14
rebounds for the first double-double of his career, leading the
Tigers to a 77-70 upset victory over Florida (No. 10 ESPN/USA Today, No. 11 AP) in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
Auburn (22-8) came through with an inspired performance after
learning on the way to the arena that Porter wouldn't be rejoining
the team. He was declared ineligible two weeks ago for taking
$2,500 from an agent's middleman and lost his final appeal Friday
afternoon.
"This was as fine a win as I've ever been associated with under
the circumstances," Auburn coach Cliff Ellis said. "It's easy
when you have success. But adversity tests your character. There's
not a better character-tester than what we through tonight, because
no one gave this team a reasonable chance of winning."
Florida (24-7) was the second loser of the day among the four
teams that shared the SEC regular-season title. Earlier, No. 8
Tennessee was upset by South Carolina, which will meet Auburn in
the semifinals Saturday.
Porter was declared ineligible on Feb. 27, a few hours before
Auburn played the Gators in Gainesville. Stunned by the loss of
their best player, the Tigers were blown out 88-59.
Auburn lost its last three regular-season games without Porter
and entered the SEC tournament with a four-game losing streak
overall. And, once again, Auburn was dealt a blow before it stepped
on the court against the Gators.
Porter had asked an NCAA appeals committee for reinstatement,
saying he needed the money to keep his mother from being evicted
and didn't know it was coming from an agent. The committee denied
Porter's appeal after a conference call.
"It's unfortunate that we had to lose Chris," said Mack
McGadney, who replaced Porter in the lineup. "But the season goes
on."
The Tigers discussed their teammate's plight on the bus, then
left the issue behind.
"We finally had some closure," point guard Doc Robinson said.
"Once we learned he was not coming back, we decided to play our
hardest and do whatever it takes to win the game."
Auburn closed the first half with a 13-7 run for a 44-41 lead at
halftime, taking advantage of a technical on coach Billy Donovan
for a four-point swing during one sequence. The Tigers zealously
guarded their advantage throughout the final 20 minutes -- never
pushing the lead beyond single figures but never losing the upper
hand.
"I think we underestimated them," said Florida star Mike
Miller, who had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
"We obviously did a very poor job over the past 12 hours of
preparing them," Donovan added. "Basically, their team destroyed
us. Auburn, I thought, wanted the game more than we did."
Fishback, one of three senior starters, hit a key 3-pointer with
4:22 remaining after Brett Nelson brought the Gators within 62-59
on a 3-pointer.
Fishback added a couple of free throws to push the lead to 67-59
and Auburn sealed the victory at the foul line after Miller's
jumper cut the margin to 68-64 with 1:09 left.
"They're a veteran basketball team with a lot of pride,"
Donovan said. "They went out and played with tremendous heart,
pride and character."
McGadney added 15 points and Scott Pohlman had 10 despite the
flu. Donnell Harvey led Florida with 15 points.
Florida actually had five more baskets from the field, but
Auburn took advantage of a staggering 32 fouls by the pressing
Gators. The Tigers made 32-of-44 at the line, countering a 21-of-63
performance from the field.
"You've got to give a lot of credit to our backcourt," Ellis
said. "We attacked the press and got some good opportunities.
Usually, Florida is so deep that around the 10-minute mark of the
second half, they snap you. But we didn't break. The truth be told,
we broke their press so much they had to call it off."
Florida's shooters, perhaps fatigued by playing for the second
night in a row, also looked ragged. They made only 26-of-71 (37
percent).
Despite sharing the SEC title with Tennessee, Kentucky and LSU,
the Gators were forced to play in the opening round as the No. 3
seed in the East. Auburn, seeded second in the West, earned a
first-round bye even though it had three more SEC losses than
Florida.
"It's difficult to win," Donovan said, "when you put a team
on the free-throw line 44 times."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Florida Clubhouse
Auburn Clubhouse
Auburn loses appeal in bid to reinstate Porter
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