Fueled by its second half efforts, the No.11 Auburn Tigers traveled to Greenville, South Carolina, on Sunday to take on Furman and used a second half surge to defeat the Paladins 83-62.
The Tigers got off to a slow start in the first half, shooting just 10-of-36 from the field and found themselves with just a seven-point lead heading into halftime.
“We missed a lot of shots,” said head coach Bruce Pearl. “The front line in the first half only made two baskets. We only made 10 field goals in the first half. When we look back at the tape, we will like where we got the ball. We just didn’t finish or execute. I thought our energy was okay and I hope that we can build it up a bit. It’s a 20-point road win. This is a team like App State (who can make it very difficult on the road). From that standpoint, I’m pleased with the outcome.”
All-American big man Johni Broome was in midseason form, recording a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. The Tigers saw five other players score in double figures, including freshman point guard Tahhad Pettiford and his freshman counterpart Jahki Howard.
“The first half we started off slow,” Pettiford said. “We made sure, when we came in here, to pressure them. That was part of the game plan today. We put a lot of pressure on their ball handlers to take them out of their shots. They made a little run and it’s a game of runs. We just made sure we stayed composed.”
The Tigers’ aggression on defense forced the Paladins into 18 turnovers – eight in the second half – and helped surge the Tigers to a 25-point lead with just 6:07 remaining in the game.
Despite the slow first half and the shooting struggles from the floor, nine of Auburn’s 11 players who checked into the game contributed to the scoring column. Chaney Johnson and Baker-Mazara contributed to the second half scoring with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
“Chaney had a really good second half and picked up his play,” Pearl said. “Chad was +29 for the game. When he’s on the floor, he makes so much happen. He’s so good on both ends of the floor.
“If you look at the stat sheet, some of our better shooters just didn’t make shots. Part of it is playing at the tempo we are playing at, playing hard defensively and our offense a bit out of rhythm.”
Auburn will host Florida Atlantic in its final preseason tune-up on Friday Night in Neville Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CTS. The charity exhibition game will benefit AU’s Melton Scholars Program.
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Logan Fowler is a Senior from Sumiton, Alabama and is majoring in journalism. He joined the Plainsman in Spring 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @loganffowler
