Holiday Hoopsgiving
BY NOAH GRIFFITH | FOR THE OBSERVER
PHOTOS BY JAMIE HOLT AND ZACH BLAND | AU TIGERS
The two players scored 24 points apiece, leading the Tigers to a 104-76 victory over Indiana, one of college basketball’s blue blood basketball programs, as part of Holiday Hoopsgiving on Dec. 9 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
ATLANTA — A return to State Farm Arena was kind to Auburn University Men’s Basketball (6-2), as it recorded its best 3-point shooting performance in two years in a 104-76 drumming of Indiana in the third annual Holiday Hoopsgiving event on Saturday.
After going 5-for-43 on 3-point shooting the week prior, Auburn made a season-high 14 threes in Atlanta to bounce back from a loss to Appalachian State last Sunday. The last time the Tigers made 14 threes in a game was also in State Farm Arena, at Holiday Hoopsgiving in December of 2021 versus Nebraska.
Offensively, Auburn notched its best performance of the season. The Tigers’ 48.6% shooting from the floor, 48.3% on 3-pointers and 87% from the free-throw line were all team highs thus far this year. A 12-3 lead in turnovers also led to 15 points off turnovers and 20 fast break points — twice as many as the Hoosiers.
Leading the offensive explosion, starters Aden Holloway and Jaylin Williams put up 24 points a piece to help Auburn reach 100 points for the first time since Feb. 1, 2022, against Alabama.
Surprisingly, the team’s leading scorer was one of few who couldn’t get going offensively. Coming off 51 points in his last two games, Johni Broome was held to just two points, but his teammates covered up his quiet showing.
Holloway splashed five 3-pointers, and Williams shot 8-for-14 from the floor in a career game along with seven assists and six rebounds. Williams’ 24 matched his career high that he set in the 2020-21 season versus Ole Miss. He hadn’t scored 20 points in a game since January against Mississippi State.
In the return to his hometown, senior K.D. Johnson was a sparkplug off the bench and helped solidify the win. The senior scored 14 points and buried a contested three in the second half, giving Auburn a 19-point lead with 13:24 remaining on the clock.
A slight advantage inside also ensured Auburn’s second-largest win of the season against Indiana, who falls to 7-2. Led by eight rebounds from Cardwell, Auburn outrebounded the Hoosiers, 39-35, and outscored them in the paint, 32-30.
A lot of that had was due to the pressure that Broome and company applied on Indiana 7-foot center and the team’s leading scorer, Kel’el Ware. Ware was held to 13 points on 2-for-8 shooting from the floor, his fewest attempts since the season opener.
Despite being limited to 21 minutes on the floor due to committing four personal fouls, Broome was key to Auburn’s solid defensive showing. He contained Ware and hauled in seven rebounds with two blocks and two steals.
Breaking things open for Auburn, the Tiger bench entered the game and kept the pressure on the Hoosiers. K.D. Johnson, Chaney Johnson and Tre Donaldson all tallied double-digits in points as the bench scored 40 points — its third time scoring 40 or more this season and sixth time scoring 30 or more.
Oppositely, Indiana’s bench put up 21 points, and it utilized 10 players in the contest. Auburn used 14 players, staying healthy and rested in its sole game of final exam week at Auburn University.
The Tigers, including a new graduate in Cardwell, returned to action on Wednesday night versus UNC Asheville. Results were unavailable at press time.
Men’s basketball will return home for the first time in December to face Bronny James and the USC Trojans on Sunday, Dec. 17 at noon CST.