Strong 3-Point Shooting Leads Auburn To Win Over Richmond

The No. 2 Auburn Tigers (8-1) earned a 98-54 win over Richmond (4-5). The dominant finish was spurred by an exceptional performance from beyond the arc. Auburn shot 43.3% from 3-point range in the win.

“That had a chance to be a trap game coming off Maui and then Duke,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “I’m very impressed with my guys for being excited about playing. Our guys respected them, they honored the game and played hard. We turned them over early and that set the tone for us. The crowd was great, and our kids entertained them pretty good.”

Despite star big man Johni Broome’s streak of double-doubles coming to an end after six games, Auburn got the job done in convincing fashion in its first game inside the friendly confines of Neville Arena since Nov. 18.

The Tigers bounced back from their first loss of the season that came against No. 9 Duke on the road on Wednesday night.

Similar to the second two of the three wins the Tigers picked up in the Maui Invitational, they never trailed in this game and their lead never dipped below 25 points in the second half.

Auburn’s freshman duo of Jahki Howard and Tahaad Pettiford shined once again. Howard accounted for 13 points, four rebounds and shot 5-9 from the field. Pettiford had 15 points, three rebounds, three assists, one block, one steal and shot 4-8 from 3-point range.

“It makes whatever offense you’re running much better when you have to guard us on the perimeter,” Pearl said. “Richmond picked their poison. Double-team inside and the perimeter’s open. Fortunately, our guys made shots.”

As has been the case in almost every game the Tigers have played so far this season, they controlled the glass. Auburn out-rebounded Richmond 49-31 overall, 15-10 on the offensive end, leading to a 22-12 advantage in second-chance points, and 34-21 on the defensive end.

Auburn also used its depth to its advantage. Despite each team having a similar number of players check into the game, 14 for Auburn and 11 for Richmond, the Tigers had 41 bench points to Richmond’s seven.

Taking care of the ball was another factor that played into Auburn’s success. The Tigers turned the ball over seven times to Richmond’s 15, leading to an 18-3 advantage for them in points off turnovers.

Auburn shot 47.8% from the field, 43.3% from 3-point range and 70.4% from the free-throw line. The Tigers were co-led in scoring by Pettiford and Miles Kelly with 15 points, two of six Tigers to score in double-figures, in rebounds by Chaney Johnson and Chad Baker-Mazara with six and in assists by Broome with six.

Richmond shot 27.1% from the field, 20% from 3-point range and 84.2% from the free-throw line. The Spiders were led in scoring by Mikkel Tyne with 16 points, in rebounds by Mike Walz with seven and in assists by Delonnie Hunt and Jonathan Beagle with three.

Auburn returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 14 to take on Ohio State at Holliday Hoopsgiving at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Tip-off is set for 12:00 p.m. CT and ESPN2 will carry the television broadcast.

POSTGAME NOTES

• For the seventh-straight game, Auburn went with the starting lineup of Denver Jones, Miles Kelly, Chad Baker-Mazara and Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell.

• With the win, Auburn now leads 4-1 in the all-time series with Richmond including 2-0 under head coach Bruce Pearl.

• Auburn saw its 59th-consecutive sellout crowd at Neville Arena (9,121).

• The Tigers have now won 58-consecutive home non-conference games.

• Bruce Pearl claimed his 208th win in his 13 seasons as Auburn head coach, putting him five wins behind Joel Eaves, who won 213 games in 14 seasons as the Tigers’ head coach, for the most career coaching wins in program history.

• Auburn set first-half season-highs with 52 points, nine 3-pointers and 14 assists. The Tigers’ 25-point halftime lead matched their season high versus Vermont (46-21). It was the fourth 50-point half for Auburn this season.

• The Tigers registered 23 assists on 33 made field goals. It was the fourth time they have recorded at least 23 assists in a game this season including 25 against North Alabama and 23 against Kent State and Memphis. Nine different players recorded an assist for AU against Richmond.

• Auburn made 13-of-30 from long range. It marked the fifth time this season the Tigers have made double-digit 3-pointers and the first time they have done so in consecutive games after going 10-of-25 from distance at Duke.

• The Tigers matched their season high (vs. Vermont) with 10 steals against Richmond.

• Auburn scored 41 bench points, which marked the second time the Tigers have scored at least 40 bench points in a game this season (47 vs. Vermont).

• AU grabbed a season-high 49 rebounds including pulling down 15 offensive boards for the second-straight game – leading to a season-high 22 second-chance points. Twelve different Tigers recorded a rebound against Richmond.

• Auburn held Richmond to 27.1 percent shooting (16-of-59) including 20.0 from 3-point range (6-of-30), which is a season low for an opponent. It was the second time this season the Tigers have held an opponent to under 30 percent shooting (25.9 percent vs. Vermont).

• The Tigers placed six players in double figures for the second time this season and the first time since the North Carolina game. The Tigers were led by Miles Kelly and Tahaad Pettiford with 15 points apiece. Kelly went 4-of-5 from 3-point range and added five rebounds, three steals and two assists against the Spiders. It was his sixth game in double figures this season including back-to-back contests, where he is shooting 8-of-10 from beyond the arc.

• Pettiford matched his career high with 10 first-half points (Iowa State) and finished 4-of-8 from long range to go with three assists, three rebounds, one block and one steal. He is 8-of-16 from distance in his last two games and has made at least four 3-pointers three times this season.

• Chad Baker-Mazara and Jahki Howard each scored 13 points in the win. Baker-Mazara, who has scored in double figures eight times this season, including the last seven contests, finished with six rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal against Richmond. Outside of the exhibition games, it was Howard’s first career game in double figures. He matched his career high with four rebounds on the afternoon.

• Johni Broome and Denver Jones chipped-in 11 points apiece. Broome tied his season high with six assists and added five rebounds and two blocks. It was his 35th-consecutive game in double figures. He went over 900 made field goals and 2,200 points in his career on the afternoon, finishing the game with 901 field goals and 2,203 points.

• Jones matched his season with three 3-pointers and pulled down a season high five boards in the win. It was his seventh game in double figures this season.