Ole Miss fell behind by 20 early Wednesday and spent the rest of the night at Neville Arena trying to get back into the game against No. 1 Auburn.

The Rebels pulled to within eight points on a couple of occasions, but that early deficit proved to be too much to overcome.

Instead, Auburn dominated the second half, pulling away for a convincing statement win.

Ole Miss lost for the third straight time Wednesday, falling 106-76.

Ole Miss fell to 19-9 overall and 8-7 in the Southeastern Conference. Auburn improved to 26-2 overall and 14-1 in the league.

Ole Miss never led Wednesday. Instead, Auburn dominated the early minutes, building a 20-point lead. Ole Miss cut that deficit in half by the intermission, 50-40, and scored the first two points of the second half to pull to within eight.

However, Auburn dominated virtually every facet in the second half, and steadily pulled away. The Tigers led by as many as 33 points in the second half.

Johni Broome, a leading candidate for national player of the year, had 24 points and nine rebounds for Auburn. Chad Baker-Mazara added 22 points and three boards. Denver Jones, Miles Kelly and Chaney Johnson had 13 points each for the Tigers.

Sean Pedulla led Ole Miss with 14 points. Jaemyn Brakefield added 13, Matthew Murrell and Dre Davis 12 each and Malik Dia 11 for the Rebels.

Auburn shot 60 percent from the floor, including 52 percent from behind the 3-point line. The Tigers won the battle of the boards, 33-20, and outscored Ole Miss in the paint, 44-30.

The Tigers had 20 assists on 34 turnovers and committed just eight turnovers, two fewer than Ole Miss’ 10.

Auburn won points off turnovers, 18-10.

Ole Miss entertains Oklahoma Saturday at 1 p.m.