Bonner sets scoring mark in SEC tourney win

Auburn's SEC tournament opener was closer than it would have hopes, but the top-seeded Tigers (28-2) still put away Ole Miss 71-65 to advance to the second round, where they will play either No. 4 Florida or No. 5 Tennessee.

DeWanna Bonner led the way and made a little history too. The senior scored 32 points, passing Becky Jackson as the school's all-time scoring leader with an 15-foot jumper during the second half. Bonner now has 2,084 career points.

I watched on TV as the game got tense near the end. Ole Miss used a 17-4 run to get within three in the final minute. Whitney Boddie made a fadeaway baseline jumper and Bonner sank two free throws to put the game away.

“There’s no lead safe enough in the SEC tournament,” Fortner said on TV afterward.

Some stats:

• Bonner: 12-19, 32 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks
• Boddie: 15 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals
• Alli Smalley: 10 points

Auburn got only five points out of Sherell Hobbs, who was 1-for-9 from the field and five points out of its bench. The Tigers also only went 3-for-11 from 3-point range. Still, they never trailed.

Sean Goff led Ole Miss (17-14) with 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting.

Auburn's game tomorrow starts at 6:30 p.m. EST.