A pair of Auburn starters will miss Thursday's game against Coastal Carolina, and could potentially be out longer.

Coach Bruce Pearl announced Wednesday that sophomores Bryce Brown and Horace Spencer are suspended indefinitely following an arrest for possession of marijuana -- a misdemeanor offense. Pearl said the two would not practice Wednesday or play in Thursday's game, and said their status for Mercer this weekend is "to be determined."

"We're disappointed," Pearl said. "They're embarrassed. These are really good kids that have done a lot of really good things and they made a mistake, and they're going to pay a price for the mistake. I've talked to both young men and I've talked to their families, and we'll try--they understand that they're role models and they understand they've let their Auburn family down, their own families down, their team down, and they feel really badly about it."

According to an Auburn Police Department incident report, Spencer and Brown were arrested at 2:53 a.m. Wednesday on the 300 block of South Donahue Drive in Auburn, which is the same block as Auburn's athletics complex. According to the report, the two were arrested in a black 2006 Hummer H3, and police found marijuana in a cellphone bag and in the vehicle.

Second-degree possession of marijuana in a Class A misdemeanor in Alabama and carries a penalty of no more than one year in jail and up to a $6,000 fine.

Spencer and Brown have started all eight games for Auburn this season, with Spencer in the lineup as the five and Brown playing two-guard.

The 6-foot-3 Brown is averaging 6.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, though he has struggled from the floor. The sophomore is shooting just 28.6 percent from the field this season and just 25.6 percent from beyond the arc. He is shooting 6-of-33 from deep since the season opener against UNF, when he connected on 5-of-10 attempts from three-point range.

Spencer is averaging 5.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game this season. He is one of the team's leading rebounders and top rim protector.

"We'll be without our best defender in Bryce Brown and we'll be without our best rebounder in Horace Spencer, so it'll complicate things even further," Pearl said.

Auburn (6-2) hosts Coastal Carolina (5-6) on Thursday at 8 p.m. Pearl said he won't yet announce the contingency plan with Spencer and Brown suspended and will have to 20 minutes worth of playing time at both the five and the two.

A message by AL.com left for Auburn Police was not immediately returned Wednesday.

AL.com will update this story.