|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Sunday, Feb. 27 12:00pm ET
Auburn star Porter's eligibility in question | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The 88-59 loss was bad enough for Auburn. The circumstances surrounding it were even worse. Playing without leading scorer Chris Porter, who was sent home for possible dealings with a sports agent, the Tigers (No. 8 ESPN/USA Today, No. 11 AP) folded Sunday against Florida (No. 10 ESPN/USA Today, No. 9 AP) in a performance that may foreshadow even more trouble for the rest of the season. "I think when you have something, you need to get to the bottom of it," Auburn coach Cliff Ellis said. "The thing to do is meet it head-on. A lot has transpired and there are a lot of things that I don't know. There will be some information that will come out."Freshman Donnell Harvey led Florida (22-5, 11-3 Southeastern Conference) with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Another freshman, Brett Nelson, had 14 points, as the Gators took a one-game lead in the SEC East and put themselves in position to win the SEC for the first time since 1989. Auburn (21-6, 9-5) can't be thinking about such goals anymore. School officials sent Porter, the player largely responsible for the team's turnaround, back to Auburn late Saturday and said they would try to resolve the matter quickly. If they don't, what's left of a once powerful team seems certain to struggle. "I'll find out more as I get back," Auburn coach Cliff Ellis said. "He's a young man that has worked so hard and is on target to get his degree this summer. My hope is that he will state whatever the circumstances are, be forthright and honest about it. If there's a mistake being made, admit it." It is just the latest eligibility problem that has affected some of the nation's top players and teams this season. Erick Barkley of St. John's, JaRon Rush of UCLA and Jamal Crawford of Michigan all have missed time due to various NCAA violations. Hobbled with knee injuries, both starting center Mamadou N'diaye and starting forward Daymeon Fishback were forced to come off the bench for Auburn on Sunday. N'diaye had six points and eight rebounds, Fishback had seven points and neither was effective. "They probably shouldn't have played, but given their situations, they made a point of playing," Ellis said. Starting in their place were Jamison Brewer, who scored one point in 30 minutes, and Abe Smith, a seldom-used center whose biggest claim to fame was singing the national anthem at a home game last year. "We were put in a tough situation," Ellis said. "We're not a healthy ballclub to begin with. With the armor that we had, I thought we did the best we could under the circumstances." Auburn kept the pace at a reasonable level and actually drew to within eight points early in the second half behind hot shooting streaks from the only healthy starters, guards Doc Robinson and Scott Pohlman. But any comeback hopes ended when Nelson and Kenyan Weaks hit four 3-pointers during a 14-2 run that gave Florida a 20-point lead and had a record crowd of 12,457 at the O'Connell center chanting "SEC, SEC, SEC." Earlier, the chant had been "Where's Porter? Where's Porter?" for the missing preseason All-America who had been the glue that held the team together. He was probably watching at home and couldn't have liked what he saw. Thanks to his late burst, Robinson finished with 21 points. Pohlman overcame an 0-for-6 first half to finish with 12. Emergency starter Mack McGadney had four points on 2-for-12 shooting. Brent Wright and Mike Miller each had 13 points for Florida, which shot 6-for-7 from 3-point range in the second half. | ALSO SEE Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Porter's alleged agent contact jeopardizes Auburn's season
| |||||