DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Tracy Smith scored on a putback with 1.3 seconds left to lift North Caroloina State to a 60-58 victory over Auburn in the Glenn Wilkes Classic at the Ocean Center.
It was a fitting end. The Wolfpack dominated inside and had 18 second-chance points to Auburn's four.
Julius Mays missed 3-pointer from the corner as time ran down, but Smith got the rebound and put it back. Auburn's desperation shot at the buzzer wasn't close.
Frankie Sullivan scored a game-high 21 points and went 6-of-11 from
3-point range while recording his career-best string of three straight
games of 20-plus points.
Sullivan made his career-best sixth 3-pointer with 1:58 to play
to break a 51-51 tie and give the Tigers a 54-51 lead. Dennis Horner
answered with a 3-pointer for the Wolfpack to tie it at 54-54 13 seconds
later. An Earnest Ross driving layup put the Tigers back in front 56-54
with 1:01 to play.
"It is just a heartbreaker," Auburn coach Jeff Lebo said. "We had a chance to win it. They hurt us on the offensive boards tonight. That was the big difference."
The Tigers hurt their own cause by making just 5-of-15 free throws.
"Free hrow shooting, offensive rebounds, two three-second calls in the last three minutes of the game that they called, those kinds of things hurt you," Lebo said.
Auburn returns home Wednesday to play High Point at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
