Jan. 4, 2014
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Game Highlights |
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. --
Allen Payne had his second career double-double and was one of three Auburn players to finish in double figures in points with 16 as Auburn cruised to an 81-50 win over Florida A&M in its final non-conference game of the season on Saturday night.
Payne, who had one career double-double coming into the night, reached his second by halftime, dropping in 12 of his 16 points and grabbing 11 of his career-best 13 boards before intermission. He also finished with a career-best five assists, three of which were in the first half, as Auburn ended the non-conference season on a four-game winning streak to take an 8-3 record into SEC play next week.
KT Harrell scored a game-high 22 points for his 11th consecutive double-digit scoring game. The junior finished the game 7-for-12 from the floor, hitting the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season.
Chris Denson was the third Auburn player in double figures, hitting his average with 19 points. Most of his damage came in the second half as he was limited to just four minutes of action in the first half due to a pair of quick fouls.
Auburn jumped out to a 38-27 halftime lead as it shot 45.9 (17-for-37) percent from the floor while holding Florida A&M (4-11) to just 27.3 percent (9-for-33).
Auburn upped its scoring in the second half, dropping in 43 points on 51.9 percent shooting (14-for-27), the fifth straight game it shot at least 50 percent in a half.
The team also finished with double-digit blocks for the second straight game, registering 10 as Asauhn Dixon-Tatum and Matthew Atewe each had four and Chris Griffin had two. Griffin added nine points and seven rebounds while Dixon-Tatum also had seven boards.
Auburn's 56 rebounds were a season-high and are the most pulled down by an Tony Barbee team at Auburn.
Florida A&M was held without a player in double figures. Jamie Adams finished with a team-high nine points while three players, Jomari Bradshaw, Trey Kellum and Greg Nelson each finished with eight.
Auburn opens SEC play on Thursday, Jan. 9 at Ole Miss. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN2.