BY NOAH GRIFFITH FOR THE OBSERVER | PHOTO BY JAMIE HOLT, AUBURN TIGERS
AUBURN — Auburn University men’s basketball went as its bench went on Friday night as the Tigers secured their first win of the season at home over Southeast Louisiana, 86-71.
After shooting 4-for-18 as a team to start the game, Aden Holloway and K.D. Johnson came off the bench and wasted no time in providing a spark for the Tigers, as they led an Auburn bench that outscored the starting five 46-40.
With the offense struggling out of the gate, Holloway and Johnson scored 12 straight points for Auburn, increasing its lead from six to 13 with 3:18 left in the opening half. Including a pair of 3-pointers in that run, Holloway sank three shots from beyond the arch in the game to tally 11 points after scoring 19 in his debut versus Baylor.
Sparked by the bench, Auburn went on to shoot 41.4% from the field in the game, including 11-for-32 from 3-point range. The team eclipsed 80 points for the second consecutive game after ranking 151st in the NCAA with 72.8 points per game last season, and bench play is a big factor in the offensive improvement for the Tigers through week one of the season.
Starting center Johni Broome has made it tough with two double-doubles and a team-high 18 points versus SE Louisiana, but the bench has outscored the starting five through two games, 85-83.
Broome, Auburn’s leading scorer from a year ago, was the only double-figure scorer among the starters on Friday, while Holloway, Johnson and Chad Baker-Mazara all scored double figures off the bench.
Just when starting forward Jaylin Williams looked like he was changing that trend with two consecutive swishes from beyond the arch, SE Louisiana went on an 8-0 scoring run to draw its deficit to seven with 7:30 left in the second half.
Again on their heels with a single-digit lead, the Tigers got a boost from their bench for the second time in the game and coasted from there. Right away, Auburn responded with a 9-2 run, capped off by a pair of 3-pointers from Johnson and Holloway.
It wasn’t as easy as the score implies, but a Baker-Mazara dunk sealed Auburn’s 46th consecutive non-conference win at home by 15 points.
While Auburn won decisively, it once again allowed more free-throw opportunities than it took. SE Louisiana got 22 shots from the charity stripe, while the Tigers went to the line 20 times.
Shooting 85% on free throws, out rebounding SE Louisiana 46-33 and leading 7-1 in blocked shots allowed Auburn to dominate the game, but the Tigers only forced one turnover in the second half, losing the turnover battle 11-9 and allowing the Lions to hang around and get their guards open looks in transition.
Auburn didn’t face a 6-foot-5 guard like it did with Baylor’s Ja’Kobe Walter, but SE Louisiana guards Roger McFarlane and Rosco Eastmond combined for 39 of its 71 points. McFarlane added 11 rebounds for a double-double of his own. However, the Lions struggled to find scoring options outside of those two, and Auburn locked down the perimeter, only allowing five 3-pointers.
Offensively, Auburn continued its impeccable ball movement, racking up 21 assists after recording 18 against Baylor. Starting guards Tre Donaldson and Jones led the way in that category with four apiece. Nine different players assisted on buckets, and Johnson and Holloway each added three.
11 players saw the court again for Auburn, but the same veteran-freshman duo continued their stealthy starts to the season. Broome recorded his second straight double-double after putting up nine total last season, and Holloway came off the bench for his second straight double-digit scoring performance to start his college career.
Auburn improved to 1-1 on the season ahead of a trip to Brooklyn, New York, to face Notre Dame on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 8 p.m. CST.