BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Coming into the Legends Classic, Auburn had scored 207 points in its last two games. On Monday night, it was the defense that propelled the 18th-ranked Tigers to a 84-59 win over New Mexico in the tournament's second semifinal game.
Auburn forced a season-high 24 turnovers, finished with six blocked shots and took control in the first half with a 16-0 run where it held the Lobos scoreless for over seven minutes.
"I thought we physically were dominant, and I thought our defense carried the day," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "We wore them down a little bit with our pressure and our effort and energy. The pace of that game early was something else.
"New Mexico has a good club, a talented club. They do good stuff, and they're going to have a really good year in their league. That's a good win for our team."
Leading 35-24 at halftime, the Tigers continued to be relentless on the defensive end as they started the second half on a 21-5 run to push the lead to 27. It was the fewest points New Mexico has scored all season, and its top playmaker JaQuan Lyle, who was averaging 19.8 points per game coming in, was held to just two points on 1 of 10 shooting.
"That's really what we were focusing on," Auburn guard Samir Doughty said. "We knew they were a good offensive team. We knew that Lyle was a great player, so if we could contain him enough, we would be able to win the game. That's what we ended up doing."
Offensively, it was Doughty who continued to have the hot hand for Auburn as he finished with a game-high 19 points. The senior, who made 5 of his 9 attempts from long range, has now scored 19 or more points in each of his last three games and is leading the Tigers with 18.8 points per game.
Doughty was one of four Auburn players to score in double figures Monday night.
Joining him was big man Austin Wiley, who was dominant inside with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. It was the second-straight double-double for Wiley, who made 6 of his 8 shots from the field including multiple dunks in the second half.
"I got in foul trouble in the first half, so I just tried to go out there, grab all the rebounds and just help my team win," Wiley said.
"Austin was physically dominating," added Pearl. "He moved so well. He was so powerful. And it's kind of fun to see that in the college game. You don't see that very often when you watch a college basketball game. Austin is rare. He was dominating on the boards. We've got to do a better job of getting him touches and getting him looks."
With Wiley leading the way, Auburn won the battle on the boards with 45 rebounds. The Tigers pulled down 19 offensive rebounds, which led to 16 second-chance points. They are now averaging 16.7 second-chance points over their last three games.
Freshman Isaac Okoro also finished in double figures with 12 points and has now scored 10 or more points in all six games he's played in to start his Auburn career. Anfernee McLemore chipped in 10 points and made two 3s during that 16-0 stretch in the first half. It was his fourth time in double figures in the last five games.
It wasn't a big scoring night for point guard J'Von McCormick, but the senior point guard stuffed the stat sheet for Auburn with seven points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. With him on the floor in the first half, the Tigers were plus-19 in scoring.
With the win, Auburn (6-0) will advance to play in the championship game against Richmond on Tuesday night. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2.