Nov. 25, 2005
AUBURN, Ala. - Three players scored in double figures and a total of 10 players scored for Auburn, as the Tigers defeated Gardner-Webb, 70-43, Friday.
Ronny LeMelle had a team-high 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Also scoring in double figures was Frank Tolbert with 11 and Josh Dollard with 10. Joey Cameron led the team with nine rebounds in 18 minutes of play. The Tigers' 27-point victory was their largest since defeating Colorado State by 30 (84-54) on Dec. 1, 2004.
"Overall, I feel like we did a nice job," head coach Jeff Lebo said. "We showed some grit, some hustle. We got on the floor and played hard and it was a good win for our team."
Defensively, Auburn, 2-0, held Gardner-Webb, 1-2, to 28.3 percent shooting, while allowing just 15 field goals. Gardner-Webb's 43 points were the fewest by an Auburn opponent since the Tigers held Arkansas to 37 points on Jan. 11, 2003.
With Auburn holding a 12-8 advantage with 15 minutes, 38 seconds remaining in the first half, the Tigers went on a 14-0 run and opened up a 26-8 lead at the 11:49 mark.
Gardner-Webb temporarily put an end to the Tigers' run after a three-pointer by Ricky McPhee cut the Tigers' lead to 15 (26-11) at the 11:33 mark, but that was as close as the Bulldogs could get the rest of the game, as Auburn took a 42-18 lead into the locker room.
Auburn held the Bulldogs to just 6-of-28 (21.4) on field-goal attempts in the first half, while the Tigers connected on 16-of-32 attempts (50 percent). LeMelle led the Tigers at the break with 10 points.
The Tigers' largest lead of the half was 25 after a layup by Barber at the 1:55 mark that gave the Tigers a 40-15 lead.
For the game, Auburn dominated play down low, winning the rebounding battle 52-33 and outscored Gardner-Webb in the paint, 34-10.
Brian Bender led Gardner-Webb with 12 points on 3-of-8 shooting. The Bulldogs' Simon Conn entered the game averaging a team-best 20.5 points per game, but Auburn held the 6-foot-9 center to just six points in 18 minutes.
The Tigers return to the hardwood on Monday as they travel to Fort Collins, Colo., to face Colorado State at 8 p.m. in their first road game of the season.