Arkansas 62, Auburn 60

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) _ Teddy Gipson's steal and three-point play put Arkansas ahead to stay and both teams blew numerous opportunities in the final minutes as the Razorbacks beat Auburn 62-60 on

Sunday, February 3rd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) _ Teddy Gipson's steal and three-point play put Arkansas ahead to stay and both teams blew numerous opportunities in the final minutes as the Razorbacks beat Auburn 62-60 on Saturday.

Gipson's only points of the second half broke the 10th tie of the game and made it 61-58 with 4:17 to play. T.J. Cleveland's free throw at 1:30 completed the scoring for Arkansas (12-9, 4-5). During the final 4:50, the Tigers (9-11, 1-8) managed only a put-back basket by Lewis Monroe with 1:48 remaining.

Down the stretch, Arkansas' Brandon Dean misfired on a 3 and twice missed the front end of a one-and-one. On the other end, Auburn missed three shots on one trip, Lewis Monroe drove hard before flipping a pass to the corner for the pep squad, and Abdou Daime missed the first of a bonus opportunity. Monroe also fell down with a rebound and Arkansas' Jannero Pargo did the same.

Pargo's tumble gave Auburn a chance with 1.5 seconds to play, but Derrick Bird fumbled the inbounds pass in the corner and his high arching shot wasn't close.

From the free throw line, Dean's attempt was too strong with 43.4 to play and again with 24.9 remaining. Adam Harrington forced a 3 in the final seconds and Pargo rebounded before he slipped to the floor.

Arkansas led by 11 early in the second half before Auburn scored 10 straight following a technical foul on Pargo. The spurt, which included two baskets and a steal by Robinson, gave the Tigers a 43-41 lead _ the first time they had been in front since 9-7. Robinson scored 16 points and had 14 rebounds.

Pargo, who scored all 12 of his points in the second half, ended the Tigers' run with an off-balance, off-the-backboard 17-footer.