Exhibition blowout
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AUBURN, Ala. | A short-handed Auburn didn't have any trouble against Brevard College in its exhibition opener Friday night.
The Tigers cruised to a 99-59 win at the Auburn Arena behind 17 points and 12 rebounds by Cinmeon Bowers.
"The team that was prepared to play this week looked a lot different than the team we had out there," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "This will be, from a standpoint of talent, the weakest opponent we'll face this year.
"They were well coached. They ran Princeton and the stuff they ran was hard to guard. It exposed them to some things, we've got some things to work on, but overall I think it was a good first effort."
Bowers shot 7-of-10 from the floor and added two assists and three steals. Auburn shot 48 percent from the floor, 41 percent (14-of-34) for 3-point range and 61 percent from the free throw line.
"I thought Cim once again having his double-double. I think you could see he's in better shape, he's moving well," Pearl said. "He missed two or three really easy ones early, otherwise he has an even better night."
The Tigers had five players in double figures. Kareem Canty and New Williams had 16 apiece, Tyler Harris had 14 points and eight rebounds and TJ Dunans had 10 points and 8 rebounds.
Williams, a true freshman, shot 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
"It felt great being out there," Williams said. "When the lights hit I knew it was that time. It felt really good being out there with my team and just feeling that energy from the crowd."
Auburn was without three of its guards. Junior Tahj Shamsid-Deen is out at least a month with a dislocated shoulder, sophomore TJ Lang is out for a couple of weeks with a strained knee ligament and freshman Bryce Brown missed the game with a back strain.
Freshman Danjel Purifoy didn't play as he awaits clearance from the ACT.
"New Williams was probably not going to be in the rotation had we been healthy," Pearl said. "He can obviously shoot the basketball. The fact that they played a lot of zone, I think, helped.
"I think New pushes for playing time, he does. It's just that Tahj, TJ Lang, Bryce Brown and Danjel all kind of play those positions."
With four scholarship players out of action, walk-on freshman Zach Allison, who goes by Sunshine, played 24 minutes, finishing with six points and a team-high eight assists.
"He did a really nice job, (eight) assists, to lead us in assists is pretty good for a walk-on freshman," Pearl said.
Demarcus Threatt led Brevard with 16 points.
Auburn will close out exhibition play against Indianapolis Thursday at 6 p.m. CT. The season-opener against UAB at the Auburn Arena will be Nov. 13 at 8:30 p.m.
