Behind a season-high 21-point performance from Denver Jones and second-half surges from Johni Broome and Chaney Johnson, No. 1 Auburn defeated Vanderbilt 80-68 at Memorial Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
With the win, the Tigers remain undefeated on the road in conference play while securing their 13th Quad I win of the season. The Tigers have also won eight of their last nine matchups against the Commodores.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Tigers come out ablaze
Auburn looked rejuvenated, fresh off their first conference loss to Florida on Saturday, storming out to a 15-0 start. The Tigers held the Commodores without a basket until the 15:02 mark of the first half, forcing seven straight stops to open the game. Meanwhile, Auburn started 5-of-8 from the field, including three 3-pointers.
Commodores rally
Auburn is 13-0 against unranked opponents this season, winning by an average of 26.0 ppg in those matchups, and the Tigers appeared poised to match that margin again on Tuesday.
But the Commodores had other plans as they rallied back to cut the Tigers’ lead to single digits at the 6:44 mark in the first half, only trailing by two after the half. Vanderbilt finished the first half on a 15-5 run and kept its momentum going in the second half, starting off on an 8-0 run just over two minutes into the half.
Denver Jones goes for season-high
Fresh off a two-point, 0-for-4 performance in the Tigers' loss to Florida, Denver Jones answered with a season-high 21 points, pouring in a team-high five 3-pointers to lead the way for the Tigers.
He scored 14 points in the first half and was the lone double-digit scorer in the first 20 minutes.
Broome, Johnson follow suit
Vanderbilt had just taken a 49-48 lead in the second half when Chaney Johnson carried the team on his back for a personal 9-0 run to spark the Tigers' second-half emergence. After scoring just four points in the first half, Johnson splashed onto the scene with a perfect performance from the field (7-of-7) and 16 points.
Broome, who scored just two points in the first half on a 1-for-6 performance from the field, poured in 15 second-half points and hauled in a team-high seven rebounds
Undersized Vanderbilt outmans Auburn on the glass
With Vanderbilt’s tallest regular rotation player standing at 6-foot-8, Auburn held a clear advantage inside. However, the Commodores showed rebounding efforts, as Devin McGlockton and Jaylen Carey finished with double-digit rebounds – 13 and 10, respectively – contributing to a +9 advantage on the boards in the end.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email logan.fowler@1819News.com.
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