Published Feb 23, 2021
Cooper-less Tigers drop to Florida
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Christian Clemente  •  AuburnSports
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A Sharife Cooper-less Auburn team couldn’t get anything going Tuesday night in a 74-57 loss to Florida.

Cooper was out with an ankle injury.

Jamal Johnson got things started with a triple and Florida coach Mike White called a timeout 1:04 into the game.

Things got ugly for Auburn from there, though. At the second media timeout, Auburn had more turnovers, eight, than points, six.


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“So when you're down two point guards and you're playing in the SEC -- playing a Florida team that presses and turns people over -- we turned it over 14 [13] times in the first half and gave up 44 points,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said.

Without its point guard, Auburn struggled with turnovers and committed 13 in the first half and 21 overall.

By halftime, Auburn was trailing Florida 44-22.

The Tigers were able to respond after the break, playing with more energy and outscoring Florida 35-30.

“To our credit, we outplayed them in the second half,” Pearl said. “We only gave a Florida team 30 points. Played hard, flew around, played with great effort and energy. JT Thor, in my mind, obviously stands out with his ability to just get deflections, you know, and make plays. I love coaching that kid. I do. We're already probably a guard down just roster-wise, and then when you're two guards down, man, it's tough.”

All in all, the Tigers struggled shooting the ball and finished the game shooting 18-of-51 from the floor and 8-for-31 from downtown.

Devan Cambridge led the way for Auburn with 14 points, 11 of which came in the second half. Cambridge played the first 14 minutes and 17 seconds of the second half before subbing out of the game.

“I think Devan’s been consistently solid defensively,” Pearl said. “Obviously Devan can make shots. But Devan’s got to add other dimensions to his game and that’s going to be an important, important piece for him this offseason. But Devan’s been very, very consistent with his games. He’s been as consistent as anybody.”

Pearl now turns his attention to a matchup with Tennessee on Saturday at 11 p.m. CST in Auburn Arena.


FINAL STATS:

Devan Cambridge: 14 points, 5-13 FG, 3-8 3FG, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 33 minutes, -18

Jaylin Williams: 11 points, 5-12 FG, 1-7 3FG, 3 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists, 28 minutes, -18

JT Thor: 10 points, 3-5 FG, 0-1 3FG, 8 rebounds, 5 TOs, 31 minutes, -9

Jamal Johnson: 10 points, 3-11 FG, 3-10 3FG, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 31 minutes, -19

Allen Flanigan: 6 points, 0-6 FG, 0-3 3FG, 6-6 FT, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 7 TOs, 35 minutes, -14

Chris Moore: 2 points, 0-1 FG, 2 rebounds, 17 minutes, +3

Dylan Cardwell: 2 points, 1-1 FG, 2 rebounds, 10 minutes, -2

Stretch Akingbola: 2 points, 1-1 FG, 1 rebound, 7 minutes, -1

Javon Franklin: 0 points, 0-0 FG, 1 assist, 3 minutes, -4

Lior Berman: 0 points, 0-1 FG, 1 rebound, 2 minutes, -1

Preston Cook: 0 points, 0-0 FG, 1 minute, -2

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