Published Jan 17, 2024
Williams perfect in road win
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Bryan Matthews  •  AuburnSports
Senior Editor
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@BMattAU

AUBURN | Jaylin Williams couldn’t miss, literally.

The Auburn graduate was 7 of 7 from the floor to lead the 13th-ranked Tigers to an 80-65 win over Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium.

"I thought Jaylin Williams was phenomenal," said AU coach Bruce Pearl. "He was 5 for 5 in the first half and doesn’t say a word about, ‘Get me the ball.’ Doesn’t say a word about his touches. Just plays. Plays the game the right way."

Auburn improves to 15-2 overall and 4-0 in the SEC with its 10th consecutive win.

Williams finished with 21 points, making 2 of 2 3-pointers and 5 of.5 free throws. He added eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and one blocked shot.

"K.D. in the second half was like, 'You ain't missed yet?' I was like, 'Nah.' He was like, 'You better take only layups to stay perfect.' I was like, 'All right, bet,'" said Williams.

"The open shots I had, it was when they were pressuring us a little bit, so I wasn't really feeling those shots to begin with. Then I was looking for my teammates. Things ended up pretty good for me."

The Tigers got a strong performance out of their two centers as Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell combined for 27 points, 18 rebounds and three blocked shots.

With 15 points and 12 rebounds, Broome recorded the 53rd double-double of his career. He added three steals and a blocked shot. He limped off the court late with a knee injury.

"Johni was productive out there," said Pearl. "I don’t know what the status of his right knee is, but we’ll get word on that tomorrow."

Cardwell's 12 points were a career-high.

AU’s two point guards, Aden Holloway and Tre Donaldson combined for 15 points.

Auburn out-rebounded the Commodores 39-30 and held 36-20 advantage in points in the paint and 29-18 off the bench.

Auburn used a late 25-4 run to lead 41-24 at the break. Vanderbilt made one field goal over the final 5:32. Williams had 17 points at halftime on 5 of 5 shooting.

Vandy out-scored AU 41-39 in the second half.

"Not happy with how we played in the second half. Vanderbilt was 2 for 5 from the foul line in the first half. In the second half, they shoot 25 free throws," said Pearl.

Auburn returns to action Saturday against No. 22 Ole Miss. Tip-off at Neville Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.