With SEC play right around the corner, Auburn dominated Queens 106-65 in Neville Arena thanks to a lights-out shooting performance.
The Tigers hadn’t played in over a week, with the Christmas holidays in between games, but looked like they had not missed a beat. The Tigers came out of the gates firing, which was led by Keyshawn Hall, scoring eight points during a 15-0 Auburn run to put the Tigers up 30-4 to start the game.
Elyjah Freeman and Kevin Overton led the Tigers in scoring, combining for nine 3-pointers. Freeman scored a season-high 27 points on an efficient 9-of-13 from the field and 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. Overton poured in 23 points on five made 3s.
“Great to see Elyjah make open shots,” Pearl said of Freeman’s 9-for-13 outing. “He really gave us a spark in the second half, which we needed.”
The Tigers shot a blistering 54% from three on 15 makes, a season high. Hall and Sebastian Williams-Adams both scored in double figures to help lead an offensive explosion.
The Tigers only surrendered 65 points, which is the second least they have allowed this year. Auburn held Queens to 38% shooting from the field and just 13% from 3-point range. Auburn has struggled guarding the three-point line at times this year, and they did a phenomenal job last night.
“We did a good job of closing out and running people off the line,” Pearl said. “We did a good job of limiting them to one shot. Overall, a really good effort on their 3-pointers.”
Back on Freemans career high night, the DII transfer had been starting for most of the year for Auburn but decided himself that it would benefit the team for him to come off the bench after the Arizona loss in the beginning of December.
“I felt like it was the best option for the entire team,” Freeman said of his recent sixth man role. “I’m not really a selfish kid. I know what I’m capable of, being able to come off the bench with a little bit of spark. Hopefully that’ll show Saturday.”
The adaptability and unselfishness are what leads a team to success. Freeman is a big part of what Auburn wants to do and him playing at high level helps elevates Auburn's ceiling.
After a blowout loss in Indianapolis last week versus Purdue, Auburn needed to gain confidence back before the grueling conference schedule and they did just that.
With SEC play starting up this was a great tune-up game for Auburn. The Tigers now sit at 9-4 on the year with multiple quality wins heading into conference play. The Tigers start conference play at No. 23 Georgia on Saturday at noon on SEC Network.
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