Published Nov 22, 2022
Tigers can-do in Cancun
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Bryan Matthews  •  AuburnSports
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@BMattAU

AUBURN | Auburn’s offense was cooking Tuesday night in the Cancun Challenge.

The 13th-ranked Tigers shot a season-high .564 from the floor in an 85-64 win over Bradley in the semifinals at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Cancun, Mexico.

“It was good to see us shoot the ball in rhythm and it was good to see us often times get really good looks,” said AU coach Bruce Pearl. “We could have done a way-better job on the offensive glass. We didn’t dominate like I think we could have. We only got eight offensive rebounds, but we shot it pretty well.”

Auburn also shot a season-high .471 from 3-point range and had five players in double figures led by Johni Broome and Wendell Green with 14 points apiece.

Broome, who missed the last game with a minor knee injury, added a team-high nine rebounds and three blocked shots while Green led AU with six assists and three steals.

“It was good to be back, you know, got to get on the court with my brothers. Like you said, I got off to a fast start. My teammates put me in a position to make plays, and that’s what I did to get off to a quick start.”

K.D. Johnson had 13 points, Allen Flanigan 12 and Jaylin Williams 11. AU out-rebounded Bradley 33-26 and held a 41-12 edge in bench scoring.

“I thought it was great balance,” said Pearl. “I thought we started very well both halves. We started plus-10 and plus-7. That’s a 17-point margin. So whatever the final score difference was, plus-17 for the starters was really good.”

Auburn, which improves to 5-0, will play Northwestern or Liberty Wednesday night in the Cancun Challenge championship game at 7:30 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network.