Auburn forward Horace Spencer prides himself on being an energy player.
Spencer, since arriving at Auburn four years ago, has always been known for giving the team a spark off the bench. Wednesday night was no different.
Spencer had a career night, scoring 14 points and grabbing 17 rebounds as No. 9 Auburn defeated Division II Mississippi College 103-52 inside Auburn Arena.
“I’ve always been the energy player," Spencer said. I’ve always been the, you know, gritty gritty player, and I really want to wear that on my shoulders, you know, the spark off the bench. Come on and just show what we can do, like, there’s no drop off. There’s no drop off.”
The Tigers, despite shooting 24 percent (8-for-33) from beyond the arc, had six players score in double figures. Austin Wiley, in just his second game back from injury, led the team with 18 points and added seven rebounds. Bryce Brown added 16 points, Spencer 14, Jared Harper 12, Samir Doughty 13 and Malik Dunbar 10.
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl, however, wasn’t satisfied with the offensive production.
“We weren't fully engaged, especially in the first half,” Pearl said. “We didn't share the ball very well. Obviously didn't shoot it very well. We shot 24 percent from 3 and took some bad shots, took some 'my turn' shots and didn't make a lot of shots. That's concerning.”
It didn’t really matter for Auburn. From tip-off, Mississippi College was simply overpowered.
The Choctaws were outmatched at every position, with their tallest player coming in at 6-foot-5. Wiley and Spencer manhandled the smaller lineup, grabbing a combined 24 rebounds, which was only 11 short of the entire Choctaw team. Auburn out rebounded Mississippi College 66-35 on the night.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Tiger forwards were a force, scoring 56 points in the paint compared to only 10 for the Choctaws.
“Obviously they were outmanned,” Pearl said. “But it got us an opportunity for us to work on the inside a little bit. Both Horace Spencer and Austin Wiley took advantage of the advantages we had on the inside. We had an arena record, I think, of 66 rebounds. That was positive for us.”
Pearl was visibly upset with his starters at the start of the second half. After the Choctaws cut the lead to 11 out of halftime, it was the Tigers’ bench players that turned it around. After a few substitutions, Auburn sunk the Choctaws with a 35-0 run in the second half to extend their lead from 23 points to 58.
The Tigers bench accounted for 52 of the Tigers’ 103 points, while Mississippi College’s bench scored 17.
“Our energy was a little down, so we came together," Wiley said. "We know the team isn’t our caliber, so we can’t play down to any opponent, so we just got to wake up, pick up, and finish out the game.”
The Tigers (3-0) remain undefeated on the year and will leave for the Maui Invitational tomorrow. Their first game will be against Xavier on Monday, Nov. 19 at 1:30 p.m. CST on ESPN2.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
