No. 2 Auburn narrowly escaped disaster, coming out on top of a back-and-forth slugfest with South Carolina, 66-63.
The win extends the Tigers’ win streak to nine over the Gamecocks.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
South Carolina dominates down low
It’s not often the Tigers’ frontcourt gets dominated, but South Carolina took the fight to Johni Broome, Dylan Cardwell and Chaney Johnson from the jump.
Collin Murray-Boyles came in as the Gamecocks' leading scorer at 15.1 ppg and went over that mark in the first half alone, tallying 18 points in the first 20 minutes – after scoring just 11 points combined in the Gamecocks first two SEC games – and finishing with a game-high 25 points. Murray-Boyles was accompanied by Nick Pringle in the paint. He went for a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
In the first half, the Gamecocks outrebounded the Tigers 21-14 with 10 offensive rebounds and 11 second chance points, scoring 26 of their 40 first-half points in the paint.
Broome quiet until injury
While Pringle and Murray-Boyles were doing whatever they wanted down low, Johni Broome – a front runner for National Player of the Year – uncharacteristically struggled from the floor. Four of the Tigers’ five in the starting lineup had scored before the under-16 timeout, Broome being the only one who had not. He finished 3-of-11 with just six points before an early exit.
Broome went down with an ankle injury with 13:45 left in the second half and did not return to action. Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said on the television broadcast postgame that Broome had a “significant sprained ankle” and that he would be evaluated upon return to Auburn later tonight.
Auburn overcomes foul trouble
Auburn’s big men got into early foul trouble, with Cardwell and Johnson having to watch most of the first half from the bench, and with Broome going down early in the second half, it looked, momentarily, as if Auburn wouldn’t be able to overcome the frontcourt foul trouble.
With 9:18 left to go, Cardwell left the game with his fourth foul, leaving it up to Ja’Heim Hudson and Johnson – who was also in foul trouble – to carry the load down low. Cardwell returned towards the end of the game and came up big with a few blocks and big stops but fouled out with under a minute left in the game.
Fortunately for Auburn, Tahaad Pettiford took advantage of two late-game free throws assuring the Tigers would walk away with a win in regulation
Miles Kelly and Pettiford carry the load
With Auburn’s top-scorer out in crunch time, it was Miles Kelly and Pettiford who carried the scoring load for the Tigers.
Kelly continued his scorching efforts from deep in this one, connecting on four threes – his fifth game this season connecting on at least four made 3-pointers – and poured in 14 points. Pettiford continued his way of showing up in big-time moments for the Tigers, pouring in a team-high 15 points, connecting on a pair of threes and going 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.
The Tigers return to Neville Arena on Tuesday as they host No. 14 Mississippi State. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT on SECN.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email logan.fowler@1819News.com.
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