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BOX SCORE
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Mamadou N'diaye saved Auburn from one of the
most embarrassing moments in college basketball history.
The 7-foot senior center blocked Ben Walker's 3-point shot just
before the buzzer, preserving the Tigers' 72-69 victory over
Creighton on Thursday in the NCAA Midwest Regional.
|  | | Auburn's Scott Pohlman, right, drives into Donnie Johnson during second-half action Thursday. |
That it came down to such heroics was amazing. The Tigers were
so sure their lead was safe, they put their team manager on the
court in the final seconds.
Auburn (24-9) went ahead 72-63 on N'diaye's two free throws with
12.7 seconds left.
"It should have been over," said Auburn coach Cliff Ellis,
whose team will face Iowa State in the second round Saturday.
Ellis then inserted team manager Jimbo Tolbert into the game.
Ellis had put the sophomore on the team's roster for the NCAA
Tournament after injuries and star Chris Porter's suspension left
some extra room at the end of the bench.
"Three possessions in 12 seconds shouldn't happen," Ellis
said. "I was glad he got the moment and I'm glad we were able to
survive it."
Tenth-seeded Creighton, the best long-range shooting team in the
tournament, got a 3-pointer from Ryan Sears and Tolbert, in his
first college action, turned the ball over on the inbounds. He
promptly was yanked with 6.5 seconds left.
"Jimbo made one mistake; there were other mistakes," Ellis
said.
Left wide open, Terrell Taylor hit anther 3 to pull the Bluejays
to 72-69 with 3.8 seconds left.
The stunned Tigers then turned over the ball on the inbounds
again when Dameyon Fishback overthrew N'diaye downcourt.
"It wasn't a bad pass," Ellis said. "N'diaye just needed to
touch it. Fishback did the right thing. With 3.8 seconds, if you
throw long and if you just touch it ..."
Game's over.
But he didn't touch it, and that gave Creighton possession under
Auburn's basket with a chance to tie it.
Walker was closely guarded by N'diaye, who got his hand on the
ball just as it was released, deflecting it straight up as the horn
sounded.
Nobody was more relieved than the blond-haired, baby-faced
Tolbert, whose parents had flown in from Atlanta to see him suit up
and were in tears when he entered the game and stood nervously as
Auburn pulled out the victory.
"My heart was pounding so bad, it felt like my heart was trying
to knock me out," said Tolbert, who blamed his low pass to point
guard Doc Robinson on nerves.
"I was totally nervous," he said. "I had my chance and I'd
like to have it back. However, we did win the game. It was just a
big sigh of relief when he blocked that shot."
N'diaye, playing on a balky knee, finished with 15 points and 11
rebounds. Fishback had 16 points and was 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
Auburn also got 15 points from sophomore Mack McGadney, who
replaced Porter after the star forward was ruled ineligible last
month for accepting money from an agent's middleman.
The Bluejays (23-10) trailed 40-25 at halftime and by 18 in the
opening minutes of the first half before finding their shooting
touch.
Auburn sank 11-of-21 3-pointers, turning the tables on the
Bluejays, who hit 12 3-pointers but misfired on 20 more.
Still, Sears, who led Creighton with 18 points, said he was
certain the game was headed to overtime.
"It's a 40-minute game, not over until the buzzer sounds," he
said.
Thanks to N'diaye's game-saving block, Tolbert's 6.2 seconds of
playing time won't go down in infamy, and Ellis said he'll never
regret putting Tolbert in.
"It worked out," Ellis said. "It's something he'll talk about
for a lifetime."
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Cliff Ellis talks about Auburn's win over Creighton.
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