After giving up at least 60 points in three of its last four second halves, the Auburn men's basketball team allowed just 33 second half points tonight on the way to a dominant 98-75 win in Baton Rouge over LSU.
"It was crucial," said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl. "We had to have this one."
For the first time in a few weeks, the Tigers of Auburn played better in the second half than the first half, which was good enough to snap a three game losing skid for Auburn. The Tigers had five players in double figures and were lead by Ronnie Johnson, who has been brilliant for Pearl recently. Johnson finished with 17 points, followed by Danjel Purifoy and Bryce Brown who both contributed 15 points.
Mustapha Heron added 10 points, TJ Dunans scored 11 points, and Austin Wiley and Anfernee McLemore had 9 points. Auburn lead by as many as 26 points in the second half, thanks to hot shooting from behind the arc. Auburn hit 14 of 31 three-pointers, eight of those which came in the second half of play.
"We are so young, and you just don't know what you're going to get," Pearl said. "But I think it is going to put a little wind in our sails. We've got three games left. We've probably got to 2-1 in these last three games to have a chance to not play on the first night of the SEC (Tournament)."
LSU, who lost its 14th straight game, was lead by guard Antonio Blakeney, who finished with 29 points. The home Tigers were in striking distance at the beginning of the second half, but hot shooting from Auburn, and a lack of production by players not named Blakeney would not allow LSU the chance to earn a victory.
Defense was key for Auburn in the second half, as the Tigers held LSU to 34 percent shooting in the half. LSU's 33 points are the fewest number of points Auburn has given up in the second half of an SEC game this season.
"We played better defense in the second half. We didn't get killed on the boards," Pearl said. "We won the battle of the boards by 9 (39-30). Better defense. Better rebounding. And if we can improve in that area, we can be a pretty competitive team."
The victory secured Auburn a winning season, which marks the first winning season for the program since the 2008-2009 season.
Auburn returns home and will take on Arkansas on Saturday in Auburn Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. CST, and the action can be seen on the SEC Network.
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