AUBURN | With Auburn’s offense struggling to find its form in the season-opening game against George Mason, the defense pulled the Tigers through in a 70-52 victory.

Bruce Pearl’s squad made life difficult for the Patriots all night, forcing 19 turnovers while blocking 10 shots to keep George Mason to a 37.5 shooting percentage.

"We are going to rely on our defense, and defense wins championships," K.D. Johnson said afterward.

The Tigers jumped out to a fast start, taking a 13-2 advantage just 4:29 into the game, forcing George Mason to call a timeout. That lead stretched to 18 at the 4:50 mark on a three-pointer by K.D. Johnson, but Auburn scored just two points after that before the half.

At one point in the opening half, the Tigers had forced more turnovers (10) than given up points (9).

"To turn them over 19 times, with only nine assists, that's a veteran team," Pearl said. "Our defense was really good."

Wendell Green led Auburn with 15 points, while K.D. Johnson added 12. Johni Broome, making his debut for the Tigers, posted 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks. Dylan Cardwell set a career-high with five blocks.

Auburn couldn’t find any rhythm from behind the three-point line, hitting on just 4-of-25 attempts, but dominated the offensive glass, coming down with 22 boards and converting it into 25 second-chance points. Pearl said it is too early to be worried about the lack of consistent shooting.

"If we continue to shoot the ball poorly, we'll have concerns with it," the coach said. "I'm not concerned now."

The Tigers return to Neville Arena on Friday when they host USF.