After not leading the entire first half and trailing by as many as seven, Auburn turned the jets on in the second half and ran by archrival Alabama 84-64 on Saturday.
Freshman Austin Wiley finally had the coming out party that head coach Bruce Pearl had been waiting for, as the 6-foot-11 center finished with a career-high 19 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
“I just really wanted to beat them,” Wiley said. “I grew up in the rivalry and it was a hype game, really hyped coming into it.”
“Austin Wiley was an enormous difference,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “This game means a lot to Austin, coming from Birmingham, understanding the rivalry. This is a bragging rights thing for him, his dad and his mom. His presence was enormous.”
“When Austin first got here, it was all we could do to teach him what we do, and that’s all he wanted to learn. Over the last week or two, now that we have him and he knows what we do, let’s start doing stuff what’s best for him and take advantage of him. And that’s what we are doing.”
Wiley scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half. The Hoover, Alabama native shot 18 free throws, knocking down 11. Wiley, who could still be a senior in high school, is trying to not let his young age be a difference maker.
“I just can't have that mindset because if I have that mindset I’m limiting myself,” Wiley said. “I just have to keep playing and not think about age.”
Fellow freshman Mustapha Heron finished with 15 points after tallying just one point in the first half. Heron knocked down all three of his three-point attempts in the contest. He also finished with five rebounds.
“It was really big,” Wiley said of Heron’s second-half outburst. “Everyone knows what (Mustapha) can do. He started out a little slow but we knew eventually he would pick it up.”
Graduate transfer Ronnie Johnson finished with a season-high 17 points on an efficient 5-of-7 from the field. Johnson finished 6-of-8 from the free throw line to go along with two assists. It was Johnson’s third game scoring at least 12 points in his last five games.
“I’m just trying to stay poised out there and be a leader, being that senior having people lean on me,” Johnson said.
“Ronnie Johnson again played great for us,” Pearl said. “He was able to go by, able to finish, and doesn’t have a turnover. So we got two really strong point guards that are leading the team.”
It was the first experience for Wiley, Heron and Johnson playing Alabama, and each said it was a truly unique experience. Each complimented the outstanding atmosphere inside Auburn Arena on Saturday.
“It means a lot to get this program back and going, get a lot of energy in the building and give Auburn fans something to cheer about,” Wiley said.
“The crowd was amazing," Pearl said. "This is the kind of atmosphere we want for the Iron Bowl in basketball. I know when we go to Alabama in a couple weeks it will be rocking up there as well.”
Alabama led the entire first half, as their lead sat in single digits, never extending to more than seven. Senior T.J. Dunans kept Auburn in the game in the first half, scoring seven of his eight points before halftime.
After entering the halftime break tied at 30, the Tigers exploded out of the gate in the second half offensively, scoring 54 points in the second half. Wiley, Heron and Johnson combined to score 40 of those 54 points.
“Alabama had come in, won six out of their last seven, plus ten rebounding margin, one of the best defensive teams, certainly in our league, and you could tell early we were young and not really sure of ourselves in the early going,” Pearl said. “We hung in there."
After going back and forth for the first part of the second half, Auburn went on a 10-2 run to take a 61-54 lead with 6:57 to play. The Tigers then went on a 22-7 run down the stretch to put the Crimson Tide away for good.
“We really couldn't speed Alabama up,” Pearl said. “We played at their pace, and we were able to win.”
Danjel Purifoy appeared in his first game since injuring his ankle vs. Ole Miss on Jan. 7. The freshman finished with five points and three rebounds in 29 minutes. He led Auburn with a plus/minus rating of +30.
“Getting Danjel back was very important,” Pearl said. “I probably yelled at Danjel more in this game than I have in a while. He struggled to rebound his position, there were times he didn’t, couldn’t move his feet to stay in front, but he battled heroically.”
Alabama was led by Braxton Key, who finished with 18 points and four rebounds. Riley Norris added 10 points for the Crimson Tide who fell to 11-7 and 4-2 in the SEC.
Auburn (13-6, 3-4) will now embark on a two-game road trip with matchups vs. No. 24 South Carolina and TCU. Tip-off from Columbia, South Carolina is set for 5:30 CST on Tuesday. The game will be televised by the SEC Network.
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