The losing streak is over.
In its 93-81 win over Vanderbilt Saturday night, Auburn broke a 12-game losing streak to the Commodores. Bryce Brown led in scoring with 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
Auburn’s success came early on three-straight 3-pointers that blossomed into a 22-point lead. Despite a slow end to the first half, Auburn finished the game shooting 32-of-57 from the floor and 17-of-26 from three.
With 17 3-pointers, Auburn set a new season-high mark as six different players tallied a 3-pointer for the Tigers.
“That’s as good a shooting exhibition as I’ve seen from possibly the hottest team in America,” Vanderbilt head coach Bryce Drew said.
“It was that kind of night,” Mustapha Heron said.
Though Auburn shot 53.3 percent from the field in the first, Vanderbilt brought the 22-point lead to as low as seven toward halftime. The Commodores had a 15-2 run over 3:12 toward the final two minutes, but never held a lead in regulation.
The Tigers shot 59.3 percent in the second half to close out the Vanderbilt winning streak.
Vanderbilt’s Jeff Roberson led the charge, finishing the game with a double-double on 30 points and 10 rebounds. Roberson shot 10-of-17 from the floor, maintaining himself as a go-to for the Commodore offense.
Heron and Brown’s second-half surge kept Auburn’s lead large, combining to shoot 16-of-24 from the field and 9-of-13 from three for 48 points. Harper added on with a career-high 14 assists to pair with 14 points and two rebounds.
The last time that Harper had 14 assists was in high school.
Brown and Heron’s success made it easy for the point guard, Harper said.
“[Harper is] our quarterback,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. “He did a great job of play calling tonight.”
In addition to its offensive success, Auburn combined for four blocks on the night and forced 16 Commodore turnovers. Chuma Okeke led with two blocks along with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
“We’re best when everybody contributes,” Pearl said. “We need some other guys to be able to contribute as well. That’s what makes us a pretty good team.
“We’re not just two or three guys, we’re a whole team.”
Pearl had praise for Desean Murray, who finished with a positive 24 plus-minus, for adding onto Auburn’s intensity.
With a win over Vanderbilt, Auburn now rides a 13-game home winning streak.
Now 21-2 (9-1 SEC) on the season, Auburn is looking ahead for a potential top-10 finish in the AP poll with a trip to Texas A&M Wednesday.
Heron said that his team’s two-game SEC lead breathes life back into an Auburn that finished 18-14 last season.
But Pearl emphasized a more realistic outlook for the “back nine” that involves meetings with Florida and Kentucky.
“Hopefully we don’t have a bogey yet,” Pearl said.
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