AUBURN | No. 19 Auburn played as bad a first half as it has all season.

Jaylin Williams made sure it was a different story after the break.

The senior scored a team-high 20 points in 8 of 11 shooting to lead the Tigers to a 72-64 win over Georgia State at Neville Arena.

"Just being in the gym and really just having confidence and trusting your teammates to be there for you," said Williams of erasing a 3-point halftime deficit. "If you're having a bad night, they're still going to be there for you.

"Having that, just knowing now I gotta have y'alls back. I'm not missing as many shots and finishing around the rim."

Auburn improves to 9-1 on the season.

Williams made 2 of 3 3-pointers and added a team-high eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Wendell Green had 17 points, three assists and two steals while Johni Broome had 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

"Jaylin Williams was the best players on the floor and Jaylin Williams is capable of being the best player on the floor," said AU coach Bruce Pearl. "Jaylin Williams needs to act like it all the time, accept it, relish it and see if he can do more."

The Tigers took control of the game with a 9-0 run midway through the second half. A driving layup and 3-pointer by Tre Donaldson made it 51-41 with 10:13 left.

Donaldson, a freshman, had six points on 2 of 3 shooting in 18 minutes off the bench.

"Coach has just been telling me to stay right and ready," said Donaldson, who played three combined minutes in the previous three games. "They gave me the opportunity and I took most of my opportunity and helped lead my team to a win."

Junior guard K.D. Johnson was held out of the game due to a coaches’ decision.

"He'll be available for the weekend," Pearl said.

GSU led AU 31-28 at the break. The Tigers shot just 7 of 22 from the floor (31.8 percent), 1 of 6 from 3-point range and were out-rebounded 18-13 in the first half.

AU shot 18 of 27 from the floor (66.7 percent) in the second half including 2 of 6 3-pointers. GSU finished the game with a 35-26 rebounding edge.

"Little disappointed with our play in the first half. We opened up the game 2 of 14 from the field. I thought we got good looks but there’s got to be more accountability with our players," said Pearl.

Auburn returns to action Sunday at USC. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. The Tigers will play at Washington Wednesday night before returning home to prepare for the SEC opener against Florida Dec. 28.