Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome each scored 13 points to lead a balanced attack as No. 13 Auburn established a 19-point halftime lead on its way to an 82-59 Southeastern Conference rout of No. 22 Ole Miss on Saturday night in Auburn, Ala.
It was the 11th straight win for the Tigers (16-2, 5-0), who moved into sole possession of first place in the SEC after Alabama, which shared the top spot with them coming into the day, lost at Tennessee. The Rebels (15-3, 2-3) dropped their second straight game and are likely to fall from the top 25 on Monday.
Allen Flanigan scored a team-high 10 points for Ole Miss in his return to Auburn, where he played the first four years of his collegiate career. But the Rebels couldn’t cope with the Tigers’ balance on both ends of the floor.
Auburn held Ole Miss to 36.8 percent shooting from the floor, including 4 of 17 on 3-pointers, and turned 17 turnovers into 22 points. The Tigers hit 58.2 percent of their shots, including an 18-of-27 clip in the first half to put this one out of reach early.
The first 10 minutes of the game were pretty competitive. The Rebels led briefly on two occasions and were still within 20-16 at the 10:47 mark when Jaylen Murray drilled a 3-pointer.
Auburn’s lead grew to double figures for the first time with five minutes remaining when Lior Berman sank a 3-pointer to make it 33-21.
The Tigers kept rolling on both ends of the floor. The half ended in fitting fashion as Chad Baker-Mazara, one of 12 Auburn players to score in the win, converted a mid-range jumper with 11 seconds remaining to make it 46-27 at the break.
The Tigers rattled off 14 straight points in the second half for a 64-33 cushion on K.D. Johnson’s layup with 12:23 left.
–Field Level Media
