The Alabama men’s basketball team is off to its best Southeastern Conference start since 2004-2005 season after a 68-58 win over the Auburn Tigers in Auburn Arena.

The Tide (12-7, 4-1 SEC) squeaked out a tough victory against the Tigers with stifling defense and key runs late in the second half.

The first run came with 8:58 left in the second half. Both junior forward JaMychal Green and sophomore Tony Mitchell went out of the game with foul trouble. Big 3-pointers by freshman guard Trevor Releford and senior guard Charvez Davis allowed the Tide to keep the lead without its top two scorers.

“I thought all of our guys did a great job during that stretch,” head coach Anthony Grant said. “We ended up going with Andrew Steele at the power forward spot, and he did a good job for us. He was able to match up very well on the defensive end. He’s a veteran guy even though he hasn’t had much time on the court because of some injuries. He has a high basketball IQ, and he understood what he needed to do on the defensive end.”

Another key run in the game for the Tide came with 5:06 left in the second half.  Alabama held Auburn scoreless until 59 seconds left in the game. Grant was pleased with the team’s effort.

“Our guys really picked it up in the last 10 minutes from a defensive standpoint,” Grant said. “We got some needed stops and got some baskets, and we were able to stretch [the lead] a little bit.”

Auburn head coach Tony Barbee was openly upset with his team’s offensive output late in the game.

“It is what it is. We can’t score,” Barbee said. “I thought we played hard and tough and we battled our tails off. We outrebounded a really good rebounding team and did a lot of things well, but we can’t score. It’s the theme of the year.”

Auburn (7-12, 0-5 SEC) struggled to score most of the game. They only had two players in double figures, led by Earnest Ross, who had a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

The Tide had four players in double figures, led by Green and Mitchell, who each had 15 points. Releford and senior guard Senario Hillman each had 10. Green scored his 1,000th point as a Tide player and finished the game with 1,014. For Hillman, it was his first win in Auburn after losing three straight.

Alabama will have the week off before returning to action next Saturday, Jan. 29, hosting LSU at Coleman Coliseum.