The Ole Miss Rebels battled until the buzzer against the top-seeded Auburn Tigers in a challenging 62-57 loss on Friday afternoon in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. Both programs battled back-and-forth throughout the showdown in Bridgestone Arena with Bruce Pearl's Tigers ultimately coming out on top to advance.

Johni Broome scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as regular-season champion Auburn opened its bid to repeat at the Southeastern Conference Tournament by holding off eighth-seeded Mississippi 62-57.

Auburn enters play today looking to rebound from a 93-91 loss in overtime at home in their regular season finale. The bright spot for Coach Bruce Pearl in the loss to Bama was the resurgence of Johni Broome. The National Player of the Year candidate poured in 34 points after scoring a total of 17 points the previous two games.