Two of Auburn’s top scorers were on the bench because of fouls at the end of Thursday’s loss at Florida, but that’s not why two bench players saw the most action they had seen all conference season and another picked up more than he’d seen in the past month.

Coach Jeff Lebo said Friday he planned to use his bench players early against the Gators and will probably do the same against Arkansas tonight at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

Tip for the third-to-last game in the arena’s history is set for 6 p.m. and the game can be seen on SportSouth (Channel 34 in Lee County).

“We are trying to keep them a little fresher. You are getting a little fatigued at this time of the year,” Lebo said. “It’s not only a physical fatigue, but a mental fatigue gets there.”

Before the season, Lebo called his group of six newcomers one of the best he’d signed in his now six-year tenure with the Tigers. The returns, more than three-quarters into the season, haven’t exactly backed up that claim, though many of them will likely get a chance for some seasoning during the final five conference games.

Earnest Ross has received the most consistent action and has typically been the first off the bench behind Brendon Knox, who averages more minutes than the starter in front of him, Johnnie Lett.

Ross started the first seven games of the season in place of Tay Waller, who was out with a sore quadriceps muscle, and played admirably. His major contribution has been tough, hard-nosed defense, which may have single-handedly led Auburn to a victory against LSU in January. Ross guarded Tasmin Mitchell, who cracked 30 points midway through the second half, in the game’s final 6 minutes and completely locked him down.

“Earnest gives us a physical presence defensively,” Lebo said. “He is a factor rebounding the ball.”

He’s had a tough time putting it together on offense, though, which was displayed Thursday when he air-balled two 3-pointers. Ross is shooting less than 30 percent from the field and is averaging 3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in 13.2 minutes.

Much like Ross, Andre Malone has received consistent action, but has failed to do much on offense. His best performance came against Kentucky, when he scored 6 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 24 minutes. In the past eight games, though, he has a combined 11 points and eight rebounds.

Malone was considered one of the nation’s best shooting guards when he signed with Auburn out of College Park, Ga., but has been ineffective from beyond the arc. He and Ross have combined to shoot just 23-of-108 from 3-point range.

“That’s an area where I thought they could be really good for us, and they just haven’t been consistent from out there with their jump shots,” Lebo said. “I thought this year would be one of our best shooting teams.”

Forward Ty Armstrong hadn’t seen many minutes before Thursday, but was a major source for optimism after an effective, season-high 16 minutes. Armstrong scored 5 points and grabbed four rebounds behind Lucas Hargrove, who scored just 2 points on zero field goals.

Armstrong is averaging 2.3 points in 6.2 minutes per game.

“Ty Armstrong is a kid who has really gotten better,” Lebo said. “He is understanding defensively what we are looking for and he’s earned the minutes he got against Florida. You will see him out there more because he is an active live body.”

Kenny Gabriel, a junior-college transfer, made his first appearance since mid-January on Thursday, when he scored 3 minutes in the second half against Florida. Gabriel was originally considered to be the most college-ready of the group, but “hasn’t really been able to get in the flow,” Lebo said.

Transfer guard Tony Neysmith picked up a conference-high 7 minutes Thursday, but that isn’t expected to be a trend.

“Those guys need to develop for us and get after it and give us something positive,” Lebo said.

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