South Carolina vs. Auburn Basketball

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl celebrates a 71-68 victory over South Carolina Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015, at Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett/ jbennett@al.com)

(JULIE BENNETT)

Auburn Arena was rocking Saturday night.

The capacity crowd of 9,121 was a major factor in Auburn's 71-68 win over South Carolina, as the Tigers fed off the energy all night.

"I'm really proud of our team, and it doesn't happen without a sell-out crowd," said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. "I talked to (South Carolina coach) Frank (Martin) before the game, and he looked up and complemented what he saw in Auburn Arena and the basketball program trying to compete.

"The adrenaline and the energy that we get from this crowd — this is one of the best home court advantages. It's loud, it's tight, it's hot."

Auburn fans were riding high in the first half, rising to their feet on nearly every big play. The Tigers built a 10-point lead by halftime on a Malcolm Canada layup at the buzzer, but came out flat in the second half. The Gamecocks took advantage of a few Auburn mistakes, made some shots and went on a 16-6 run to climb back into the game.

"It was South Carolina's offensive execution to start the second half and (we) didn't have the same energy," he said. "The crowd's still coming back from the concession stand and we're not as sharp. The start of second halves have been a problem for us this year."

Ultimately, the Tigers dug deep and ended a 9-0 South Carolina run with a key four-point play from KT Harrell, who was fouled while taking a shot from long range. The shot snapped the crowd out of it lull, and fans remained loud for the remainder of the game.

"That was probably the loudest it's been since I've been here," Harrell said. "When you have that type of atmosphere it makes you feel like you can't lose."

Pearl is doing his best to promote the sport, change the culture and get people in the seats at Auburn, and Martin credited the program for changing the culture and building a new home atmosphere.

"It's what we're trying to do at South Carolina," he said. "There's a reason they won today, and that had a lot to do with it. We got rattled coming down the stretch. There's a reason Xavier came here and lost. That's why you want home-court advantages. They pay off. Winning on the road's hard because of that right there.

"It's fun to go on the road in this league and play in front of that kind of crowd. To me, that's awesome."

Auburn improved to 9-1 at home this season and has quality wins over Milwaukee, Winthrop, Xavier, Missouri and now South Carolina. When the team hits the road, it's a different story. The Tigers are 1-6 outside Auburn Arena and struggled mightily in losses to Colorado, Tulsa, Vanderbilt and most recently, Florida.

Pearl's key to winning in hostile environments? Bring your own energy.

"We don't force people to play our game, we relax," said senior guard Antoine Mason when asked about playing on the road. "If we get the energy and effort we do at home, we'll be all right."