Three steps backward

Auburn rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to score an 83-80 men’s basketball victory over the No. 22 Vols before a crowd of 8,271 at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

"I’ve been promising for a year and a half once we got one over a ranked team, we’d roll Toomer’s Corner,’’ said Tigers’ coach Jeff Lebo, whose team had lost 15 consecutive games to ranked opponents. "So we’ll be up there tonight.’’

It’s a good bet UT coach Bruce Pearl, whose team falls to 13-5 overall and 1-2 in the SEC, was up late Wednesday night, too.

Pearl was assessed a technical during a timeout with 21.7 seconds left with the Vols behind Auburn (12-7, 2-2), 78-75.

Pearl took off his sport coat and went out near mid-court to argue with officials over Auburn’s Frank Tolbert being awarded a timeout after a loose-ball scramble with Dane Bradshaw.

Pearl said it should have been ruled a jump ball, and the possession arrow favored the Vols.

"I didn’t think he (the official) had to give it (the technical) to me in that situation, and I think you have to have possession of the basketball to have timeout,’’ said Pearl, whose three-game losing streak is his first at UT and only the third of his 13-year head-coaching career. "It was a 50-50 ball. ? Everybody was tied up; everybody was holding the ball.

"I’m going to stand up for my kids, and I’m going to fight to the end. I didn’t cuss.’’

Auburn, last in the SEC in free-throw shooting entering the game, made the technical hurt when Quan Prowell sank both free throws to make it 80-75. Prowell, who scored 21 points, hit two more free throws with 19.7 seconds left after being fouled by Bradshaw to make it 82-75.

UT’s Ramar Smith, who scored a career-high 19 points, raced up court and dunked, closing the gap to 82-77 with 13.7 seconds left.

UT, however, took eight seconds to foul Tolbert, and Tolbert added another point toward his game-high 24 by splitting the free throws to make it 83-77 with 5.7 seconds left.

The Vols were resigned to settle for a long-distance 3-pointer from Chris Lofton just before the buzzer for the final margin.

"Auburn played well and we couldn’t match their intensity,’’ Lofton said. "In the SEC, a lead is never safe.’’

UT used an 8-0 run to take a 66-52 lead on a Bradshaw drive with 9:43 left before Auburn mounted its comeback.

The Tigers went on an 18-0 tear capped by a Prowell 3-pointer and then a Josh Dollard free throw that gave Auburn a 70-66 lead with 3:20 remaining.

The Vols missed 10 shots during the Tigers’ rally — five misses by Lofton — before Lofton ended the drought with a drive to make it 70-68 with 3:02 remaining.

"Shot selection,’’ Pearl said when asked about the Vols’ 6-minute, 41-second dry spell. "I don’t know that we lost our composure; we missed a lot of shots and didn’t get to the foul line.

"I thought we kind of panicked offensively instead of executing our stuff.’’

Lofton scored 12 of his team-high 22 points in the first half with UT taking a 38-29 lead to intermission.

But Pearl, in an attempt to spark his team after it came out slow to start the second half of the past two games, didn’t start Lofton or Duke Crews for the final 20 minutes.

Lofton entered the game with 17:36 left but didn’t attempt a shot until the 7:46 mark of the second half and didn’t score until his drive at the 3:02 mark.

The Vols left the court angrily after the loss with Bradshaw exchanging a few choice words with fans.

"The team is real upset and frustrated,’’ Pearl said. "(Auburn) went to the line 23 times and we go three (in the second half). Lofton didn’t attempt a free throw in the game.’’

UT returns to Thompson-Boling Arena to play host to South Carolina at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Free Throw Woes: The Vols shot less than 50 percent from the line for the third consecutive game, making 7 of 15 (46.7 percent). Auburn made 20 of 28 (71.4 percent).

Centers Of Attention: The Vols’ freshman center combination of Crews (6-foot-7) and Wayne Chism (6-9) were out-played by their Auburn counterparts despite not giving up a height advantage.

Crews and Chism combined to shoot 5-of-16 from the floor for 11 points while pulling down 15 rebounds. The Tigers’ Prowell (6-8) and Josh Dollard (6-7) were 8-of-19 shooting for 28 points with 17 rebounds.

Back On Track: JaJuan Smith scored 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting after scoring 11 points in the past two games on 4-of-20 shooting.

Not So Lovely: The Vols have dropped eight of their past 10 at Auburn, which is nicknamed "The Loveliest Village on The Plains.’’ The Tigers off to their best start in SEC play since 2003.