AUBURN | Chaney Johnson was missing his shots. Bruce Pearl told him to keep shooting.

That confidence paid off Tuesday night as Johnson scored a team-high 15 points to lead Auburn to an 84-54 win over Alabama A&M.

“I thought Chaney was terrific,” said Pearl. “I thought he was terrific all game long. I mean, he was physical, he was athletic. Played well defensively. Just really, really so happy for him.

“Got stuff to work on, needs to be a better playmaker and a better passer, understand our offense. But he did really well tonight.”

Johnson shot 6 of 8 from the floor and added four rebounds, two steals and one block. In the Tigers’ first four games, the UAH transfer averaged just 2.5 points on 5 of 19 shooting.

“It’s an amazing feeling, man,” said Johnson. “I try not to let missed shots really mess with me. I just go out there and play. And like you said, the shots are going to fall eventually.”

Johnson, the 2023 Gulf South Conference Player of the Year, has mainly been splitting time with senior Jaylin Williams at the 4 position.

“He's in the gym all the time,” said Pearl. “There was a time or two where I wanted him to take the ball to the basket a little bit more rather than settling for the turnaround fadeaway -- you can turn around and shoot a jump shot, but you can still turn around and take it to the basket instead of fading away. But, man, I thought he was really, really good."

Auburn returns to action Nov. 29 against Virginia Tech in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Tip-off at Neville Arena is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. CT on ESPN2.