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  Wednesday, Dec. 22 5:30pm ET
Porter opens door for Tigers' win
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- It's official: Auburn isn't a one-man team.

The Tigers (No. 6 ESPN/USA Today, No. 7 AP) beat Pepperdine 87-76 Wednesday night in the championship game of the San Juan Shootout, and it wasn't Chris Porter who hoisted the trophy as most valuable player.

Chris Porter
Chris Porter had a monster second half for Auburn in the Tigers' 87-76 victory.
That honor went to Mamadou N'Diaye, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (10-1), who took charge in the second half after Pepperdine (8-3) trailed only 43-40 at halftime.

"I was just trying to help my team the best that I could," said N'Diaye, who averaged 14 points and 7.6 rebounds in Auburn's three tournament games. "It is all a matter of going out and being aggressive. I've gotten much stronger and I am shooting better."

Porter, who scored 17 of his 19 points as Auburn took charge in the second half, "is finally getting into his own," coach Cliff Ellis said, "and N'Diaye is a hard worker who keeps getting better and better."

"I don't think we are a top 25 team yet," Pepperdine coach Jan van Breda Kolff said. "We are preparing for UCLA next and then we'll see what happens.

"Nevertheless, I think we played very well down here in this tournament and we improved as a team," he said. "We came here with the intention of winning it all. We got as close as we could but we came a little short at the end."

Auburn (10-1) had a 9-point lead reduced to 43-40 at halftime with Porter limited to two points. The Tigers took control after intermission, pushing the margin to 14 points on N'Diaye's jam after Reggie Sharp's missed 3-pointer with 9:01 to play.

Porter's dunk with 90 seconds remaining gave Auburn an 81-67 lead.

"We had an excellent game overall," Ellis said. "We played aggressive and they did too, but we managed to hit our shots at the end."

Auburn opened a 19-10 lead after a 3-pointer by Scott Pohlman with 13:36 to play in the first half. The Waves (8-3) responded with a 23-12 run, taking a 33-31 lead 4:49 before halftime on David Lalazarian's 3-pointer.

Auburn regained the lead by halftime, with David Hamilton's basket with five seconds left giving the Tigers a three-point advantage.

Daymeon Fishback contributed 12 points and David Hamilton 10 for Auburn.

Kelvin Gibbs led Pepperdine with 17 points, Tezale Archie added 15, Nick Sheppard 11 and Lalazarian 10.

The all-tournament team included Detroit-Mercy's Terrell R iggs, Illinois State's Tarise Bryson, Miami's Mario Bland, Virginia Tech's Rolan Roberts and Brian Chase, Louisiana-Lafayette's Orlando Butler and Auburn's Doc Robinson and Porter.

 


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Pepperdine Clubhouse