Oct. 22, 2016
AUBURN, Ala. - Junior TJ Lang scored 22 points on 5-of-6 3-pointers, freshman Anfernee McLemore had 18 points and 16 rebounds and senior TJ Dunans just missed a triple-double with 15 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds in Auburn's third intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday in Auburn Arena.
Lang was 8-of-10 from the floor, McLemore 7-of-8 and Dunans 6-of-12.
"I know we are young, but we have a long way to go," said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. "We didn't take care of the basketball. We struggled to defend as a team, but that is a learning curve, and we have to pick up our physicality."
Freshman Jared Harper added 15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals while frosh Mustapha Heron had 13 points and graduate LaRon Smith 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals.
Freshman Danjel Purifoy totaled 11 points on 2-of-3 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals and Horace Spencer had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
"I thought T.J. Dunans really played with himself and the system and was really trying to be a great teammate, and he picked his spots," said Pearl. "I thought TJ Lang was just super solid. It was good to see Mustapha getting to the rim more. I thought Anfernee McLemore, he may be our best rebounder."
DeSean Murray, who will redshirt this season after transferring from Presbyterian where he led the Big South Conference in scoring with 20.2 ppg, had 10 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals. Devin Waddell added 7 points, New Williams 6 points and Ronnie Johnson 5 points.
The Tigers had four 10-minute scrimmages, two each with best on best and top 10 vs. scout team.
The Tigers shot 54.5 percent from the floor, 37.1 percent (13-of-35) from 3-point range and 62.8 percent (27-of-43) from the foul line.
Auburn plays its lone exhibition game vs. Div. II Montevallo on Nov. 4 prior to opening the season with three-straight home games vs. back-to-back Atlantic Sun Champion North Florida on Nov. 11 followed by a pair of Cancun Challenge games vs. Georgia State on Nov. 14 and Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 17.
Georgia State has won 25 games in two of the last three seasons and defeated Baylor in the 2015 NCAA Tournament while Eastern Kentucky has won 21 or more games in three of the last four years
Auburn, which sold out of season tickets in back-to-back seasons, both under Pearl, for the first time in school history, has less than 200 season tickets available at AubTix.com or calling 855-AUB-2010.