By Jeff Bartl
For The Opelika-Auburn News

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Fitting. There’s no better word to describe DeWayne Reed’s final free-throw attempt.

After Auburn and Dayton tried a combined 186 times over 44 minutes and 58.6 seconds to make every shot attempted from the field and free-throw line with little success, Reed needed to miss a free throw with 1.4 seconds left in overtime to give the Tigers one last chance. However, his high-arching shot fell straight through the basket.

“When we were trying to make one we would miss it, and when we were trying to miss it we made it,” Auburn coach Jeff Lebo said with a smirk.

Lebo refused to describe the Tigers’ 60-59 overtime loss to Dayton (5-0) on Friday at the Chicago Invitational Challenge as sloppy, but rather as a hard-fought, defensive battle.

A look at the statistics might make him think twice.

Auburn’s dismal 12-for-26 performance from the free-throw line trumped Dayton’s horrific 0-for-24 shooting from 3-point range — a near-school record for futility. The Flyers outrebounded the Tigers 60-43, including 22-9 on the offensive glass, and Auburn’s 20 turnovers didn’t help matters, either.

“When you miss that many shots, it might look like a sloppy game,” Lebo said. “But Dayton is a very good defensive team and their physicality was a factor on the boards.”

Despite its subpar numbers, Auburn (3-2) hung tough and had a chance to win the game in regulation. But Lucas Hargrove’s desperation 3-pointer fell short, and the game went into overtime tied at 47.

After Dayton’s Marcus Johnson hit two free throws to give the Flyers a 60-57 lead, Reed was fouled before he could get off a shot attempt. He calmly sank the front end of the 1-and-1, and he listened as Lebo shouted, “Shoot it high!” from the bench. Instead of a miss and a potential tip-in, Reed’s shot went in and Dayton dribbled out the final seconds for the win.

“It’s a tough way to lose,” Reed said. “We came close a couple of times, played good defense, just lost. We just lost.”

Reed finished with a game-high 22 points on 6-for-17 shooting, including 4-for-12 from 3-point range.

Auburn leading scorer Korvotney Barber did not start after sitting out practice the previous two days with a broken nose. Barber still played 39 minutes and scored 10 points, and Lebo lauded his performance and spoke of Barber’s importance to the team.

“He’s really the only guy down low who can score and we need him,” Lebo said. “He played hard tonight with a broken nose, and that says a lot about him.”

Barber dunked home Auburn’s first field goal, which came over five-and-a-half minutes into the contest. The Tigers managed little else in the half, scoring a mere 21 points and trailing by 5 at the intermission. Still, Lebo liked Auburn’s chances.

“We felt good at that point, knowing how we were playing,” he said.

Auburn slowly closed the gap and finally tied it on Barber’s basket and a foul with 3:14 left in regulation. Barber missed the free throw, and the teams traded missed opportunities to set up the overtime drama.

Tay Waller added 10 points for Auburn, and Johnson led Dayton with 16 points. Auburn held Dayton’s leading scorer, Chris Wright, who is averaging 15 points per game, to 10 points.

Auburn will face Northern Iowa at 4:30 p.m. today in its final game of the Chicago Invitational Challenge.