HUNTSVILLE | After a relatively even first 10 minutes, Auburn went on a 20-6 run to end the first half and never looked back en route to a 87-62 win over North Carolina Asheville.
The Tigers improved their record to 7-2 on the season and will take on USC on Sunday from Neville Arena.
"We avoided the letdown," said Bruce Pearl. "A letdown of having a big game against Indiana on Saturday in Atlanta (and) we play USC on Sunday. It could be one of the hottest tickets in Neville Arena history for a nonconference game. We’ll have to play better to win that one.”
SLOWING PEMBER: Asheville center Drew Pember could do no wrong to start the game as he had 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and had the Bulldogs up 21-19 with 9:30 left in the first half.
After that point, Pember did not hit a shot from the field for another 20 minutes, and by that point, Auburn had built up a 22 point lead.
Pember ended with 23 points, but when Auburn went on its run, the Tigers were able to make Asheville's best player a non-factor.
Auburn's defense as a whole locked down after that point as the Tigers only allowed 41 points in the final 40 minutes.
"Really, just being more aggressive on defense," said Denver Jones. "Not letting them be comfortable. Coach talked about letting our defense dictate our offense so that’s what we focused on as far as that second part of the first half."
MY 10 VERSUS YOUR FIVE: Pearl has talked ad nauseam about the depth of his team, and it showed against an overmatched opponent.
Outside of Pember and Nick McMullen, the rest of the Bulldogs hit only 11 shots, and Pember was forced to play 33 of 37 minutes before being pulled with the game clearly out of hand.
On the other hand, the Tigers put up 87 points and every rotation player hit at least two shots from the field and had five points. Tre Donaldson led Auburn with 15 points and Chad Baker-Mazara had 11.
In addition, Auburn didn't have a player play more than 23 minutes while all of Asheville's starters played more than 23 minutes.
"I spoke on the depth of our team, and I feel like that's gonna be our greatest weapon this year," Jones said. "That's because not many people can go nine and 10 deep into their bench. But we're fortunate to be in this position to be able to do that."
COOKING IN TRANSITION: Auburn followed up its best offensive performance of the season with another solid performance in transition.
Of Auburn's 87 points, 30 of them came in transition which worked out to 1.250 points per possession, per Synergy.
It wasn't a perfect night in transition for Auburn as its defense allowed Asheville to score 16 points on fast break possessions which worked out to 1.067 ppp.
"It felt good as a team to get out and run and just share the ball," Donaldson said. "I feel like everybody enjoys that. Anybody on the team enjoys that, really, when everybody's able to get out and run and get dunks, layups and easy buckets like that. And I know BP likes it."
HOMECOMING: Both Jones and Chaney Johnson made their returns to Huntsville and both of them turned in solid performances.
Jones posted nine points and five rebounds on 4-of-8 shooting while Johnson posted eight points and four rebounds on 3-of-5 shooting.
"It was a blessing," Jones said. "I haven't played back in Huntsville — it's been years. Really, since about high school. To have my parents come to a game, have my friends come to a game — they haven't seen me play in a while — it was just a real blessing to be able to go out there and perform in front of them."
POINT GUARD DUO:
Auburn's duo of Aden Holloway and Donaldson was on display again as the duo's minutes were basically even and both had their moments.
Holloway didn't have a great shooting night as he shot 3-of-11 from the field, but he led the offense with five assists and just one turnover.
Donaldson led the Tigers in scoring with 15 points to go along with two assists
"I feel like, and a lot of people feel like, that we’re the best guard duo in the country, at the 1," Donaldson said. "That’s going to be tested some days. Just looking forward to that game. I feel like when me and Aden are out there, it’s hard to beat us."
CBM THE SHOOTER
Chad Baker-Mazara did not score a point in the first half.
In the second half, he scored 11 points in a span of five minutes and had an assist in that span as well.
"Chad Baker's got what we call 'it,'" Pearl said. "Can't teach 'it.' He just has 'it.' A real feel, a real IQ. He's a very effective player. We put the ball in his hands. We trust him to make plays. He's long, and he can be a problem."
