AUBURN — No. 5 Auburn continued its winning ways on Wednesday with a 79-56 win over the Kent State Golden Flashes at Neville Arena.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Fast start ends in drought
Auburn got off to a fast start ignited behind a raucous home crowd — a common trend in the Bruce Pearl era — and jumped out to an early 22-point lead. During the stretch, the Tigers went on a 12-0 run while holding Kent State to just six points, which came from a pair of Jalen Sullinger 3-pointers.
Auburn dominated in the paint during the run, with 18 points down low compared to the Golden Flashes two.
However, some sloppy play from the Tigers in the last five minutes of the first half, during which they went on a 4:43-long scoring drought, saw Kent State go on a 12-0 run and cut the lead down to 12 heading into the locker room.
It was much of the same to start the second half. After a technical foul on JP Pegues, while both teams were heading into the locker room at halftime, Kent State went on a quick 8-0 run ignited by Davis VonCameron - the Golden Flashes leading scorer this season — who was in foul trouble for much of the first half. The Tigers started the half off just 2-for-6 from the field.
Auburn relies on its bread n' butter
After the cold start to the second half was ended on a Chaney Johnson slam underneath the basket, the Tigers went to its All-American big man to spark the offense.
Johni Broome, who scored six first-half points, finished his night with 18 points going 8-for-12 from the field - all but two of his points coming from down low. Broome also finished with his 61st career double-double after his stellar second-half efforts.
Big night for Chaney Johnson
Chaney Johnson has been a consistent threat for the Tigers in their first three games of the season and is coming off his first career double-double in their win over Houston. Johnson finished with 18 points, five rebounds and two blocks. But the most important aspect of Johnson's game is the considerable amount of hustle plays he makes that do not show up on the stat sheet.
Without Ja'Heim Hudson's presence in the lineup, Johnson has more than established that he belongs with the best-of-the-best down low.
Auburn takes advantage of a smaller Kent State
Kent State has one of the smallest lineups in the country, and it didn't bode well for the Golden Flashes against the Tigers. Two of Auburn's players in its starting lineup were taller than Kent State's tallest guy on the floor, and Auburn dominated down low — outscoring Kent State 42-26 in the paint and outrebounding them 41-33.
On a cold shooting night for Auburn from beyond the arc, in which they were 6-for-24, the Tigers' prowess in the paint showed up big down the stretch.
The Tigers are back in action next Monday as North Alabama travels to Neville Arena. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT and will be aired on SECN.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email logan.fowler@1819News.com.
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