ATLANTA – It was a back-and-forth game all night, but Auburn made the plays down the stretch to take down Memphis and secure a 74-71 victory at Holiday Hoopsgiving in Atlanta.
"It's a good win for us," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "Memphis is an NCAA Tournament team. We had a couple guys really step up. It was a good team victory. We've got a long way to go to become a good basketball team, but this was a good win."
Freshman Justin Powell picked up where he left off against South Alabama the last time out, scoring the first 11 points for Auburn on Saturday before the first media timeout. Powell knocked down a 3 on the opening possession. He then drained a floater, made a tough layup inside plus the foul and finished the sequence with another 3 to make it 11-8.
"That momentum carried me for the rest of the game, and it got everybody else kind of going a little bit," Powell said. "We started off well, we put up some points. I think that just solidified the tone."
The biggest shot of the night from Powell came in the closing minutes when he connected on his fourth triple to put the Tigers up 67-63. He finished with a game-high 26 points, matching his career high set against South Alabama, and led the team with eight rebounds. He was 9 of 13 from the field and 4 of 6 from deep. He's now made 11 of 15 3s over the last two games, shooting at a 73 percent clip.
"Justin brings his 'A' game every night," teammate Allen Flanigan said. "He's an incredible shooter, but he's also a person that can handle the ball. When he's at the 1, we just play through him. He gets downhill, creates for other guys, and we create for him also and get him open shots."
Flanigan was second on the team with 16 points and took over late, scoring 7 of the team's final 13 points over the last five minutes. The sophomore's turnaround fadeaway jumper with 3:45 left put the Tigers in front, 64-63. Powell followed with a 3, and they never trailed again.
Flanigan also drew a charge with just over a minute to go to take away a Memphis bucket. It was one of 18 turnovers forced by Auburn on the night.
Though Flanigan and Powell were Auburn's only two players in double figures, Jaylin Williams was instrumental in the victory as he dished out a career-high eight assists to lead the Tigers while turning it over just once. The sophomore forward also scored six points, pulled down three rebounds and blocked two shots.
"Jaylin helped a ton because when they double-teamed our point guard, we had him in the backcourt and then once he pushed it, they had a hard time staying in front of him," Pearl said. "He can go with either hand. He's under control. He's kind of slippery – gliding and sliding to the basket. That makes him a tough cover."
In the first half, after Powell's quick start, Auburn struggled from the field and fell behind by as many as 8 points. But the young group kept grinding. Freshman JT Thor banked in a 3 to cut into the lead. Later, Flanigan made a tough reverse layup in transition to cap a 6-0 run and make it a 1-point game. Memphis led 38-37 at the break.
In the second half, the Tigers opened much like they did in the first half with a 3-pointer from Powell who scored the team's first nine points coming out of the intermission.
With the win, Auburn improves to 3-2 on the season and 2-0 all-time against Memphis. The Tigers will return home Tuesday to face Texas Southern in Auburn Arena. The game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on SEC Network+.
"That was a big win," Powell said. "It gives us a lot of confidence going into these next few games up until Christmas break, so we really needed that."
