According to Alabama guard Mykal Riley, the Crimson Tide’s scouting report before Sunday’s game against Auburn didn’t say much about Tigers forward Lucas Hargrove.

It’s safe to say that will change the next time the two teams meet.

Hargrove’s career night helped lead AU past Alabama, 88-76, to salvage a split in the season series. Auburn is 3-1 against Bama over the last two seasons.

Hargrove made his second career start Sunday, as Lebo shuffled his starting lineup. Point guard DeWayne Reed went to the bench, guard Quantez Robertson moved to the point and Hargrove came in at small forward.

The switch paid off: Hargrove scored a career-high 28 points — more than double his previous best total — and made three of six 3-pointers.

“We didn’t expect that at all,” Riley said. “He played a good game, though.”

It’s safe to say Riley and his teammates weren’t the only ones surprised by Hargrove’s big day. The sophomore didn’t know he’d be starting Sunday’s game until Lebo posted the lineup a few minutes before tipoff.

“Coach wrote (the starters’) names on the board, and I didn’t want to let him down,” Hargrove said.

If he keeps performing the way he did Sunday, he won’t have to worry about that.

“I guess I’m dumb,” Lebo deadpanned. “I should have started him the whole year. He was awfully good today.”

The Tigers are now tied with Ole Miss in third place in the Southeastern Conference’s Western Division standings.

Auburn (14-11, 4-8 SEC) trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, but rallied to pull within a point at halftime. The Tigers put the game away with a 14-4 run midway through the second half.

Despite a serious size disadvantage, Auburn kept Alabama big man Richard Hendrix in check most of the game. Hendrix, the SEC’s leading rebounder and third-leading scorer, scored 16 points, but was a non-factor for long stretches. He had just 5 points with eight minutes to play.

“They were making it tough to buy a shot in the paint,” Hendrix said.

Auburn used a triangle-and-two defense to essentially triple-team Hendrix, especially in the first half. The defense left two Crimson Tide perimeter players largely unguarded, daring them to shoot.

Alabama (14-13, 3-9) couldn’t take advantage of those opens shots. The Tide was 28-for-67 from the field and missed 20 of its 28 3-pointers.

“I think we got a little frustrated,” Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said. “We had a lot of shots around the rim. We had some good-looking shots from the perimeter.”

Alonzo Gee led Alabama with 18 points and nine rebounds.

Bama, which won the teams’ previous meeting by 20 points, never seemed to catch up to Hargrove, who was 9-of-12 from the field. The player Lebo called “the most confident kid I know” gave the Tigers plenty of self-assurance.

“I don’t want y’all to think I’m cocky, but I think I’m a go-getter,” Hargrove said. “We didn’t come to lose. We came to play hard.”

Auburn plays at Mississippi State on Wednesday. Alabama hosts Arkansas.

| 737-2561