After a closer than comfort start, No. 2 Auburn pulls away from Monmouth 87-58 to end the non-conference slate of the season – marking the best non-conference record, 93-15, in the SEC over the last nine seasons.
“It was the toughest non-conference schedule in the history of Auburn basketball, and we lost one game at Duke and a close game. So very, very proud of our kids,” head coach Bruce Pearl said following the win. “A lot of the games we played were on neutral sites and away from home. So, we demonstrated that we could win away from Neville. And, now we get ready to start the toughest conference schedule in the history of college basketball.”
At the 6:32 mark of the first half the Tigers and Hawks were tied at 28 a-piece – with Abdi Bashir Jr. and Madison Durr of Monmouth both on the cusp of double-figure performances in the first half. Monmouth started the contest 3-for-3 from deep and led for 6:57 of the first 13:28 of the game.
From that moment on, Chaney Johnson took over the game with a 10-0 run of his own – a dunk, four free throws, a layup and jumper – leading to an 18-0 run for the Tigers to close out the half. Auburn held Monmouth scoreless in the final 6:32 of play and ended the first half with six of its 15 makes from the field.
“I was glad Chaney took over the second rotation, but he knows I wasn’t happy with his first rotation. Why not take over the first rotation,” Pearl said. “I complimented him at halftime for really not having a very good first rotation, and then coming back and playing great. Part of it is taking all this time off and things along those lines. Athletically, physically, I have high expectations, obviously.”
The Tigers defense, especially down the stretch, continued to be a problem for the visiting Hawks. Auburn was able to turn 11 Monmouth turnovers into 20 points, collecting eight steals and out-rebounding the Hawks by a +19 margin.
“We had a plan about doubling him, but then I told coach personally one on one that I wanted the challenge,” Chad Baker-Mazara said of guarding Bashir Jr. “And the rest is history.”
Pearl’s guards were able to hold Bashir Jr. – who entered the game averaging 21.6 points per game which ranks ninth nationally – to just 4-of-15 shooting totaling just 15 points – shooting just 1-for-8 in the second half. Bashir Jr. had just five attempts from deep with two made shots.
“We've got some pretty good individual defenders. We did have a game plan of doubling him a little bit. We didn't have to, because of the percentage,” Pearl said. “Chad Baker probably guarded him as well as he'll be guarded all year long.”
Auburn had four players hit double-figures on Monday night – three of which were big men – with national player of the year candidate Johni Broome leading the way with 14 points on 4-for-8 shooting with six points from the charity stripe.
It’s the big man’s ninth double-double of the season, 69th of his career, and the 11th game of the season scoring in double-figures – only failing to meet the mark due to injury against Georgia State.
Alongside Broome, Dylan Cardwell recorded his first career double-double in his 141st game with Auburn recording 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting with 11 rebounds in 19 minutes of action.
“Double-double is something I’ve come close to in my recent years, and something I've prayed for, something that I just couldn't grasp,” Cardwell said. “It really frustrated me. And it ain't something I did differently but something the Lord allowed.”
Outside of the Tigers’ front court, guards Denver Jones, Baker-Mazara, Tahaad Pettiford and Miles Kelly all totaled eight-or-more points a-piece in a balanced offensive attack with Baker-Mazara leading the way with 13 points with three 3-pointers knocked down.
Jones collected all nine of his points early in the first half shooting 3-for-3 from deep, now shooting 62%, 18-of-29, from deep over the last five contests – making three-or-more shots from deep in each of the last five games as well.
As the game got out of reach in the second half of play the fireworks began with two electric dunks by true-freshman Jahki Howard; the first a windmill slam and the next a backwards dunk he caught from a midcourt Pettiford pass.
“To be honest, I'm about to go home and rewatch that to see if I can still believe what I see in my own life. But you know that kid is a freak of nature,” Baker-Mazara said.
“I couldn't breathe. Like, I literally was like, breath taken,” Cardwell followed up with on Howard’s dunk.
Now with a 12-1 record following the toughest non-conference schedule in program history, No. 2 Auburn is set to begin SEC play – a league with 10 of the 16 teams ranked in this week's AP poll – against Missouri on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 3 p.m. CST inside of Neville Arena.
“The physicality of what we're about to enter is like playing Houston and Iowa State,” Pearl said of the upcoming SEC slate. “Yeah, we're down 18 to Iowa State, and won at the buzzer and against Houston, you know. So, and that's what we're going to see every night.”
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Patrick is a junior from Auburn, Alabama, double majoring in journalism and marketing. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2022.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @patrickabingham
