He’s been trying it all year.

To drive down toward the basket with such authority and such force. To rise up and swing his arm and a basketball down through the rim as if it had somehow offended him. To dunk the ball over a defender that leaves a gasp in his home arena.

Jaylin Williams has been trying it all year. He’s been so close to that monumental dunk so many times. But he hasn’t finished the play.

On Saturday, in his final home game, Williams finally got it.

Williams had an open running lane down the middle of the floor as if the bull had been set loose when he caught a pass from Chris Moore in stride near midcourt. Georgia’s Dylan James began running from closer to the sideline and who knows what he was thinking, but he was trying to catch Williams. Maybe he shouldn’t have. Williams jumped from just next to the SEC logo in the paint. He cocked his arm all the way back and James helplessly jumped with him — a mistake — and Williams dunked the ball over him in a poster that will assuredly hang on Williams’ wall for years.

It was just two points with an exclamation mark in Auburn’s 92-78 win over Georgia on Saturday at Neville Arena. It was the 24th win of Auburn’s season. It finishes the regular season with a 24-7 overall record and 13-5 in the SEC. It was Senior Day. It was the final home game for several Auburn seniors including Williams.

It was Williams’ 110th win, a record for any player at Auburn. He arrived to Auburn for his first season in the fall after Auburn’s 2019 trip to the Final Four. He also holds the record for most games played at Auburn.

“I’m not trying to let anyone break that record anytime soon,” Williams said Friday. “Hopefully COVID doesn’t come around again.”

Probably a bad joke, but the COVID-19 pandemic allowed an extra year for Williams to break Auburn’s wins record at a maybe unattainable mark given his five years of eligibility to play instead of a typical four. Williams broke the record with Auburn’s first win of the season back in November against Southeastern Louisiana. He entered the 2023-24 season tied with Allen Flanigan for the record already. But with Flanigan’s transfer to Ole Miss, Williams could take it all his own.

Head coach Bruce Pearl has frequently talked about Williams continuing to stay at Auburn for all these years. He stayed when Auburn brought in Jabari Smith to play over him and Auburn went on to win the SEC in 2022. He stayed after he graduated. He stayed for five years, a rarity in the modern college game.

Pearl knows it’s cliché, but he thinks it’s just something different about Auburn.

“I think the No. 1 thing that will stand out to me is how much they love Auburn and how much Auburn loves them,” Pearl said Saturday. “I know it sounds goofy. It’s not. It’s real. They love Auburn, and they love the opportunity Auburn has given them. They love our fans. They love playing in front of The Jungle and Neville Arena. They’re grateful. They are. I think that’s the reason why guys stay four or five years. That’s why it’s not been kind of a revolving door. It’s got far less to do with me and my coaching staff and more to do with our university and our community — the way they’re treated, the way they serve. That stands out to me.”

And this year Williams blossomed for his best season yet. He crossed the 1,000-career point milestone and is averaging a career-best 12.9 points per game. He’s shot nearly 57% from the field this year, easily the best mark of his career. He finished his final home game with 13 points, including one 3-pointer — another aspect of Williams’ game he’s added this season to shoot nearly 40% for the year.

But maybe the fact Williams is standing here at all is just as important.

It seemed his career had ended on this same floor back in February, when he lay on the ground after trying another mammoth dunk against Kentucky.

His knee twisted awkwardly. The injury was scary. It had all the makings of a season-ending ACL tear. But Williams and Auburn got lucky. There was no damage.

Just some pain, and Williams only missed one game.

He would still get to leave Auburn — leave this place where he’s been part of such a golden age of winning basketball for a program without much pedigree at a predominantly football-driven school in a football-driven conference — on his own terms.

So on Saturday, maybe it was a little extra notable Williams finished that dunk and walked off the floor on his two feet with ease like it was any other game. He stood with his team for a prayer at center court as they always do after a game. He signed autographs as he walked back to the locker room.

After all he’s done here, he could rest.

Or, well, at least until Friday.

“It really means a lot,” Williams said of Auburn getting a double-bye in the SEC Tournament. “Because I’m pretty old now.”

Matt Cohen covers sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]