Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum Most Memorable Games (1969-2010)

[augolf1716 21,102]

Came across while doing some reseach. Interesting list. Hope the format looks ok.

Jan. 11, 1969: Auburn 90, LSU 71 in Auburn, Ala.

The first game in Memorial Coliseum history featured Auburn's 90-71 victory over LSU and All-American "Pistol" Pete Maravich before a then capacity crowd of 11,166. Wally Tinker made the first field goal attempt in the Coliseum's history.

Feb. 14, 1970: Auburn 121, Alabama 78 in Auburn, Ala.

All-American John Mengelt set the Auburn single-game scoring record with 60 points vs. Alabama on Valentine's Day. Mengelt was pulled out of the game but Coach Bill Lynn was informed that Mengelt had 58 points. Coach Lynn put Mengelt back in the game but told him he could only take one shot and then he was coming out of the game. Mengelt made it for his 60th point.

Jan. 11, 1975: Auburn 90, #7 Kentucky 85 in Auburn, Ala.

Freshman Mike Mitchell totaled 31 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Tigers to a 90-85 victory over seventh-ranked Kentucky before 11,399, the then third largest crowd for an Auburn home game. Gary Redding had 17 rebounds while Stan Pietkiewicz added 18 points and Eddie Johnson 12 points. Kentucky tied Alabama for the SEC Championship by going 26-5 (15-3 SEC). The Wildcats went on to lose to UCLA 92-85 in the NCAA Tournament championship game. It was UCLA's 10th and last national title by legendary coach John Wooden.

Mar. 8, 1975: Auburn 76, #7 Alabama 70 in Auburn, Ala.

Auburn finished a Cinderella season with what Coach Bob Davis termed a "storybook finish," defeating seventh-ranked Alabama, 76-70, to give the Tigers their best record in 12 seasons at 18-8 (12-6 SEC) and the most wins since the 1963 team went 18-4. Auburn finished tied for third in the SEC with Tennessee, and the Tigers' victory closed out a perfect 12-0 season in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. With the victory over Alabama, Auburn became the only SEC team besides Kentucky to beat every team in the league at least once. With no more than seven points separating the two teams, Auburn outscored Alabama 13-1 in the last four minutes after being down 69-63. Auburn made 15-of-16 free throws in the second half. Eddie Johnson scored 27 points to lead the Tigers while freshman Mike Mitchell had 19 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with nine minutes remaining. Auburn outrebounded Alabama 51-47 after being outrebounded by 10 in the first half. Alabama tied Kentucky for the SEC Championship by going 22-5 (15-3 SEC).

Feb. 16, 1976: Auburn 73, #8 Tennessee 72 (ot) in Auburn, Ala.

Gary Redding totaled 21 points and 7 rebounds to lead Auburn to a 73-72 overtime victory defeating No. 8 Tennessee before 12,022 in Memorial Coliseum. Eddie Johnson added 17 points and 7 rebounds and Stan Pietkiewicz had 15 points while Mike Mitchell and Myles Patrick had 10 points apiece. Tennessee took a 68-66 lead with 12 seconds left in regulation as Redding was called for goal-tending. Eddie Johnson "threw up a 12-footer with six seconds left" and tied it to send the game into overtime. With the game tied at 70, Tennessee went into a stall game with 3:15 to play and going for the last shot. With 12 seconds to go, the Vols' Mike Jackson missed a layup and then fouled Eddie Johnson on the rebound. Johnson made the first free throw and missed the second, but the ball went out of bounds with 7 seconds to go. Tennessee fouled Johnson, who made a pair of free throws to make it 73-70. Bernard King made a layup just before the buzzer as Auburn won by one. Bernard King had 19 points for the Vols and Ernie Grunfield added 17 as the Tigers played virtually a 5-on-3 by triple-teaming King throughout the game with Mike Mitchell, Gary Redding and Myles Patrick. The Tigers didn't guard Doug Ashworth and Austin Clark most of the game.

Jan. 5, 1983: Auburn 91, #5 Alabama 80 in Auburn, Ala.

Charles Barkley scored 27 points and had nine rebounds and Odell Mosteller added 23 points to lead Auburn to a 91-80 victory over fifth-ranked Alabama before an overflow crowd of 12,542. The historical photo of Barkley dunking over Alabama's Bobby Lee Hurt was taken during this game. The Tigers moved to 2-0 in SEC play for the first time since 1975-76.

Jan. 13, 1984: Auburn 82, #2 Kentucky 63 in Auburn, Ala.

Auburn crushed Associated Press No. 2 ranked and UPI No. 1 ranked Kentucky 82-63 and the Wildcats are the highest ranked team that Auburn defeated in the 42-year history of Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. The Wildcats later advanced to the 1984 NCAA Tournament Final Four. Auburn head coach Sonny Smith asked immediately after the game, "Do you think that this would be an understatement that this would be our biggest win? It was a great victory over a tremendous basketball team. I think this will do wonders for our program. I'm so pumped up that I'm not really sure who did our scoring. I know that Charles Barkley down the stretch late in the ball game was tremendous."Chuck Person scored 25 points and Barkley added 21 and controlled the backboards as Kentucky suffered their worst defeat in nearly 10 years. The victory enabled the unranked Tigers (10-3, 4-0 SEC) to take over sole possession of first place in the SEC. Melvin Turpin scored 22 points and Sam Bowie had 15 to lead the Wildcats (12-1, 4-1 SEC). Kentucky pulled to within 44-41 with 17:58 left, but Gerald White and Person teamed up for seven consecutive points to give Auburn its first 10 point margin of the game. Auburn pulled out to a 59-45 lead with 11:44 left, but Kentucky closed to within 60-54 with just under 10 minutes to play.

Dec. 11, 1992: Auburn 141, Troy State 116 in Auburn, Ala.

Wesley Person and Aaron Swinson combined for 64 points to lead Auburn to a 141-116 win over Troy State as the two teams combined for an Auburn single game record 257 points in an up and down game. The Tigers and Trojans combined to set eight single game records. Auburn established four single game marks, including points in a half (78), points in a game (141), field goals made (55) and assists (33). Troy State broke three Eaves Memorial Coliseum records for an opponent - 3-point field goals made (18), 3-point field goals attempted 959) and points scored (116). Auburn led by as many as 28 in the opening period and had a 78-54 halftime lead. The Tigers hit the century mark with 15:43 left in the game. Six Auburn players scored in double figures including Person, who finished with a then career-high 33 points to go along with a career-best 14 rebounds.

Mar. 6, 1993: Auburn 81, #13 Arkansas 80 in Auburn, Ala.

Wesley Person hit a 3-point basket out of the left corner with : 02 left to give Auburn an 81-80 homecourt victory over 13th-ranked Arkansas as the Tigers became the first team to sweep the Razorbacks since 1986-87. Auburn led by as much as 10 points behind Person's 18 first half points. Arkansas scored 19-straight points to build a 13-point lead at 64-51 with 12: 52 left. The Hogs led by as many as 15 twice in the second half, the last time at 74-59 on Robert Shepherd's layup with 7: 57 remaining. Auburn put together a 16-2 spurt to pull to within 76-75 on Ronnie Battle's four-point play with 3: 15 remaining. The Tigers tied it at 78 on Person's 3-pointer from the left wing with 1: 50 left. Corey Beck hit a layup with the shot clock winding down to give Arkansas an 80-78 lead with : 32 remaining. Three Auburn players scored in double figures including Battle and Person, who had 28 and 27 points, respectively. Aubrey Wiley added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Auburn hit 13 three-pointers to tie the then-school single-game record. Fans stormed the court following game, marking the first time in Coliseum history that fans rushed the court.

Jan. 14, 1995: Auburn 104, #4 Arkansas 90 in Auburn, Ala.

Auburn shot an incredible 70 percent from the floor and Arkansas native Wes Flanigan scored a team-high 23 points (10-of-13 fgs) to lead six Tigers in double figures as Auburn routed No. 4 and defending National Champion Arkansas 104-90 before a sellout crowd of 10,108 at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum and an ABC regional TV audience. It was Arkansas' worst SEC loss since joining the league in 1991-92 and Auburn's first-ever win over a defending National Champion in six tries. Moochie Norris scored a then career-high 22 points and dished out nine assists. Lance Weems chipped in 20 points (5-of-8 3fgs). Auburn built a 58-37 halftime lead and pushed it all the way to 66-42 with 17:30 to go. Arkansas cut the lead to 88-82 with 3:35 to play, but Norris then nailed a 3-pointer from 21 feet to give Auburn a 91-82 cushion 18 seconds later. The Razorbacks made a SEC-tying 17 treys in a league game, while Auburn made 13-of-21 from beyond the arc.

Jan. 18, 1998: Auburn 94, Alabama 40 in Auburn, Ala.

Auburn handed Alabama its worst loss in history with a 94-40 thrashing before a sold out crowd of 10,108 at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. The 54-point margin of victory is the largest in an SEC game for Auburn. The Tigers jumped out to a 26-4 lead nine minutes into the game and stretched it to 40-8 with 5: 38 left. Auburn led 45-16 at halftime. The Tigers continued their domination in the second half and coasted to the historical victory as all 12 Tigers scored. It was the biggest margin of victory for Auburn in Coliseum history. Auburn shot an incredible 67 percent (14-of-21) from 3-point range while limiting Alabama to 27 percent shooting from the field. Mamadou N'diaye had 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds as five Tigers scored in double-figures. Even football players, wide receiver Clifton Robinson (6 points) and offensive lineman Kendell Mack (3 points) scored. Bryant Smith led Auburn with 16 points and eight rebounds while N'diaye had 15 points and 11 boards.

Feb. 17, 1999: #3 Auburn 81, Vanderbilt 63 in Auburn, Ala.

Auburn clinched only its second regular season SEC Championship in the then 67-year history of the conference and its first since 1960 with an 81-63 victory over Vanderbilt on Senior Night before the seventh sellout of the season with 10,500 in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. Chris Porter notched his 10th double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds while Doc Robinson added 15 points and nine assists. The win gave Auburn a perfect 15-0 record at home and a wild celebration of the SEC Championship followed with fans storming the court, streamers flying and the Tigers cutting down the nets.

Jan. 11, 2000: #4 Auburn 66, #20 Kentucky 63 in Auburn, Ala.

Doc Robinson hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with : 28 to play and Scott Pohlman added two free throws as No. 4 Auburn won 66-63 on ESPN's Super Tuesday to end a 14-game losing streak against #20 Kentucky. With the score tied at 59 with 2: 36 to play, Chris Porter gave the Tigers their first lead since the 11: 09 mark on a tip-in. Two free throws by Jamaal Magloire tied it at 61 with 1: 12 left. The Tigers had a chance to take the lead, but David Hamilton missed two free throws. Bowling Green, Ky., native Daymeon Fishback, who had 17 points (3-of-6 treys), got the rebound, which was knocked out of bounds by Keith Bogans, giving the Tigers the ball with : 42.9 left. Robinson faked right, went left and nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Auburn a 64-61 lead. Tayshaun Prince missed a 3-pointer at the other end, but Bogans got the rebound, drew a foul and made two free throws to make it 64-63 with : 13.3 left. UK then fouled Pohlman, who made both free throws with : 10 remaining. Porter had his fifth double-double with game-highs of 22 points and 13 rebounds. Magloire led the Wildcats with 16 points. UK was 15-of-16 from the foul line while the Tigers were a woeful 3-of-10.

Feb. 21, 2001: Auburn 72, #14 Alabama 69 (ot) in Auburn, Ala.

The legend of Reggie Sharp will live forever in Auburn lore as the Tiger senior took the inbounds pass with 4.4 seconds left, weaved through traffic and banked-in his 36-foot shot at the buzzer to give Auburn a dramatic 72-69 overtime victory over 14th-ranked Alabama before a sold out Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. Bedlam erupted as fans stormed the court. There were four ties and four lead changes in the last five minutes of regulation alone as the Tigers missed three shots in the final seconds to send the game to overtime at 58-58. The Tide jumped out to a quick 63-59 lead in the extra period. A conventional 3-point play by Marquis Daniels tied it at 64 with 1: 58 left and Adam Harrington made a driving layup to give Auburn a 66-64 lead with 1: 07 left. After two more foul shots by Daniels gave the Tigers a 68-65 lead with : 32 left, Antoine Pettway closed the Tide to within 68-67 with : 16 remaining. After 93 percent foul shooter Lincoln Glass missed his first free throw with : 16 left, he made the second for a 69-67 Tiger lead. Rod Grizzard tied it at 69 with a 12-foot jumper with : 06 left to set up the heroics. Alabama outrebounded Auburn by a whopping 56-30 while the Tigers were a frigid 8-of-18 from the foul line. However, Auburn committed a season-low six turnovers.

Mar. 14, 2001: Auburn 60, Miami (Fla.) 58 in NIT First Round in Auburn, Ala.

Freshman Kyle Davis was one block short of the NCAA record as he swatted away 13 Miami shots, 11 in the second half, as Auburn came-from-behind to beat Miami 60-68 in the NIT First Round in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. It was an-NIT blocked shots record. Auburn also had 15 blocks as a team. The Tigers led for only 1: 34 during the entire game. The Hurricanes of the Big East Conference took 28 second-half shots and Davis blocked 11 of them. Abdou Diame nailed a 12-foot jumper with 1: 17 left for a 59-58 Auburn lead. Marquis Daniels, who led Auburn with 15 points, made a foul shot with: 58 left for the final margin. Miami misfired on a shot in the final seconds to tie.

Jan. 23, 2007: Auburn 81, #12 Alabama 57 in Auburn, Ala.

Auburn opened the second half with a 25-7 run en route to an 81-57 victory over No. 12 Alabama in a sold out Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum to snap a seven-game Tide winning streak in the series. The Tigers shot 68 percent in the second half while holding the Tide to only 32 percent as the lead never went below double digits from the time Auburn took a 53-41 lead with 12:44 remaining. In the first half, Auburn had a 15-0 run to take a 19-9 lead with 13:09 left, but Alabama outscored the Tigers 10-3 over the final three minutes to take a 36-35 halftime lead. It was the largest margin of victory in history by an unranked Auburn team over a nationally-ranked team. The win gave Auburn two-straight victories over ranked teams for the first time since 1995-96. Quan Prowell had his second-straight double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Korvotney Barber added 18 points, Frank Tolbert 17 points and Josh Dollard 16 points. Jermareo Davidson had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Alabama, but scored only two second half points. Ronald Steele added 19 points for the Tide.

Feb. 7, 2009: Auburn 78, Tennessee 77 in Auburn, Ala.

Korvotney Barber's game-winning layup with 4 seconds to play on a Tay Waller assist gave Auburn a 78-77 victory over Tennessee. Rasheem Barrett had 27 points and 7 rebounds and Barber added 21 points making all eight field goal attempts with 8 rebounds to lead the Tigers. Tennessee held a 77-76 lead and Lucas Hargrove missed two free throws with 16 seconds to play. The second barely grazed the front of the rim, Barrett grabbed the offensive rebound and was trapped close to the far corner and a timeout was called with 13 seconds left. The Vols nearly intercepted DeWayne Reed's long inbounds pass to halfcourt. Tennessee's Wayne Chism battled Barrett for the ball at midcourt causing both to fall to the floor, and Waller picked up the loose ball. Waller dribbled past halfcourt to right in front of the Auburn bench and found his former Manchester (Ga.) High teammate, Barber, open under the basket for the game-winner. Auburn jumped out to a quick lead at 15-6 and still held a 40-32 edge with four minutes before halftime. Tennessee closed it out with a 9-3 run to trail only 43-41 at halftime. Barrett scored 18 first half points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field to lead Auburn. Scotty Hopson nailed a 3-pointer to give Tennessee its first lead of the game at 53-52 with 15:23 left. The game would then have 11 more lead changes the rest of the way. The Vols took their largest lead at 62-56 with 12:59 left, and Auburn answered with a 9-2 run to regain the lead at 65-64. UT led 75-71 on a Chism layup at the three minute mark. A Reed jumper and a huge Waller 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:10 to play put Auburn back ahead at 76-75. Tyler Smith's layup with 38 seconds left put UT ahead 77-76 and set up the dramatic finish. After Barber's game-winner, Prince missed an off balance 3-pointer just before the buzzer. Senior Quantez Robertson was late for the game and was held out of the starting lineup to end his streak of starting all 112 games played in his career at Auburn. Playing a career-low nine minutes, Robertson would have become Auburn's first-ever four-year player to start every game of his career. Auburn outscored Tennessee 19-2 in second chance points and Smith led the Vols with 21 points and J.P. Prince added 18 points. The win jumpstarted Auburn to a torrid stretch of 11 wins in 13 games through SEC regular season, SEC Tournament and NIT play.

[WinForAuburn 128]

I was at that 93 Arkansas game and was one to rush the court! Was able to high five Coach Eagles as he was leaving the floor.

Probably as much fun as I've ever had at an Auburn event. I can't wait for Pearl to build us back up.

Thanks for the post.

[AUB1974 2]

Thanks for the memories. I was at each of the first 2 (and many of the others). If I recall Pistol Pete had 44 that night,which was amazing,then for Mengelt to have 60 against Bama (it was CM Newton's first year) was really something -- long before the 3 point shot.

As a high schooler I had gone to see Pistol Pete play the year before in the old Barn'slast year. There were so many there that when you gotta ticket you were hoisted above The crowd and passed back to an opening to get to the entrance.

Can't wait for BP to start a string of memorable games in the new arena. WDE!

[cole256 17,042]

I was at the game Reggie Sharp hit the game winner to beat bammer. Very cool

[tigeraddikt 1,600]

Was at the 98 Bama beatdown. I was a HS junior visiting my brother who was a AU sophomore living on campus. He said he had a student ticket for me to use, but the story changed when I got down there. He and his gf abandoned me outside Beard Eaves, where I finally bought a scalper's ticket with about 5 mins left in the first half. Ahhh memories.

[SumterAubie 3,031]

I had a friend write down Auburn 83 Kentucky 63 on a piece of paper prior to our kicking their butts in '84.

Turpin called Barkley the 'kid' early on.

Barkley schooled Turpin and Bowie that day Ripping off 24 rebounds.

[Mikey 16,575]

I was at the first seven. Good memories.

[WeagleTheBeagle 60]

I was at the game Reggie Sharp hit the game winner to beat bammer. Very cool

As was I...will never forget that game! We were right on the court under the basket where Sharp made the three-pointer. We immediately ran on the court and got in the huddle with the team when they came together at mid-court jumping up and down. I felt like a little kid standing next to Kyle Davis and I'm 6'2". Those were some good B-ball days.

[FoundationEagle 637]

Is it just for irony that the last game listed is Lebo beating Bruce Pearl?

[augolf1716 21,102]

Yes the article was written 12/18/09

[AU64 10,122]

Good memories....I recall listening to or watching most of those games but unfortunately for me, I've never lived close enough to AU to see home games. About all the AU games I've seen during the Beard-Eaves era were on the road or at tournament sites. Nice to read about our better basketball years.....thanks..

[Mikey 16,575]

After I graduated I stayed on staff for seven years so I had plenty of opportunity to see basketball and any other sport I wanted to watch. I was at the first game at BEMC and the last game also.

For that last game they had a special night and gave away tickets to anyone that was at the first game. Special seating and so forth. I got to get re-acquainted with John Mengelt, Carl Shetler, Wally Tinker and so forth from the early days. Doc Robinson, Joe Champi and many other notables were in attendance. It was a fun night, and AU beat Mississippi State to get things off to a good start.

[AU64 10,122]

After I graduated I stayed on staff for seven years so I had plenty of opportunity to see basketball and any other sport I wanted to watch. I was at the first game at BEMC and the last game also.

For that last game they had a special night and gave away tickets to anyone that was at the first game. Special seating and so forth. I got to get re-acquainted with John Mengelt, Carl Shetler, Wally Tinker and so forth from the early days. Doc Robinson, Joe Champi and many other notables were in attendance. It was a fun night, and AU beat Mississippi State to get things off to a good start.

Living in AU was one of my retirement dreams.....I will watch anything that uses a ball...plus other sports too....but my wife did not want to leave NC...so I'm limited to SEC TV and our local HS. AND after all my griping about what our cable company charged for adding ONE new channel to the sports package, I'm finally on board that it's worth the money now that I can get the SEC+ on my computer.