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 Auburn (0-0) | | November 1, 2013 | 1 | 2 | F | | Paine College | 31 | 33 | 64 | | Auburn | 52 | 47 | 99 |
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AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- KT Harrell led five Auburn players in double-figures with 25 points as the Auburn basketball team defeated Paine College, 99-64, on Friday night in the team's final exhibition game. Auburn opens the regular season in a week against Nicholls State.
Harrell, who transferred from Virginia and sat out last season, went 9-for-14 from the floor, including 3-for-5 from behind the 3-point line. Two of his 3-pointers came in his 12-point first half as Auburn raced out to a 52-31 halftime lead.
Chris Denson also had a big night, finishing with 24 points on 8-for-10 shooting. The senior guard, who led the team with 21 points in the exhibition win over Victory on Monday, was 6-for-7 from the free throw line, where as a team Auburn shot 80 percent (16-for-20).
Center Asauhn Dixon-Tatum and Benas Griciunas each went for 11 points and combined to grab 14 rebounds, eight by Benas, while starting point guard Tahj Shamsid-Deen added 11 points and seven assists.
Auburn jumped out to a five-point lead, 7-2, just one minute into the game as Chris Griffin (nine points) and Harrell each connected on a 3-pointer on their first shots of the game. Auburn would maintain the 5-point lead for most of the first half before closing out the period on an 11-1 run over the final 5:14.
Auburn used a 15-0 run early in the second half to put the game decidedly out of reach. Leading 58-38 with 17:05 left, Shamsid-Deen hit a 3-pointer to start the run before Harrell went off for nine points, punctuating the run with a dunk off of a steal to make it 73-38 with 12:24 left.
Sean Morgan led Paine with 16 points while Darius Smith scored 14 and Kenny Fluellen 13.
Auburn and Nicholls State open up the regular season at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8 at the Auburn Arena. Tickets are on sale at AUBTix.com.
