AUBURN, Ala. – On the game's opening possession, Auburn freshman Justin Powell stepped into a 3-pointer and drained it. It would be a sign of things to come for Powell and his teammates who found their stroke Friday night and beat South Alabama, 90-81, in the team's home opener.
Auburn made 22 3s in total, setting a new school record and tying the SEC record. Seven different Tigers connected from deep, and six hit multiple 3s.
"We obviously shot the ball extremely well tonight," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "I just kind of let the kids play out of space, not a lot of play calls, and I thought they did a really nice job. The fact that we had six guys make more than one 3 speaks to the fact that we've got some guys who can shoot it."
Powell, making his first career start for Auburn, knocked down 7 of 9 shots from long range and finished with a career-high 26 points to lead the Tigers. He was two 3s away from the Auburn freshman record for 3s in a game (9) set by Bryce Brown in 2016. Powell also dished out a career-high nine assists and added four rebounds.
"BP (Pearl) told me in the beginning of the week, 'You've got to be more aggressive and more assertive.' I went out there tonight thinking about that," Powell said. "The guys did a good job of finding me, so they made it easy for me."
"You tell me the best freshman home debut, and I'll put it up against that one," Pearl said. "Twenty-six points, nine assists, one turnover. He had four defensive rebounds. I'd say he played terrific."
Powell was one of five players to score in double figures for the Tigers who jumped out to a 25-7 start in the first eight minutes thanks to seven 3-pointers from six different players.
Sophomores Allen Flanigan and Devan Cambridge each made four 3s apiece. Flanigan, the team's leading scorer coming in, finished with 14 points. It was his third game this season with 10 or more points. Cambridge scored 12 points, one shy of his season high. Fellow sophomore Jaylen Williams had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes, which matched Powell for the most floor time.
The fifth Tiger in double figures was freshman JT Thor who scored 10 points and knocked down a pair of 3s, including one toward the end of the first half to give Auburn a 47-32 advantage at the break. Thor scored eight of his 10 points in the first 20 minutes and posted four rebounds and four assists.
As a team, Auburn finished with 24 assists on 30 made baskets, which is tied for the third-most assists by the Tigers under Pearl. They shot a red-hot 55.6 percent from the field (30-54), 53.7 percent from deep (22-41) and reached 90 points for the second time this season.
"Our spacing and our offensive efficiency was off the charts," Pearl said. "I thought they shared it. I thought they spaced it. The ball got inside out. I thought they were looking for each other. Guys were in a ready-to-shoot mode. I didn't think we took many bad shots."
Auburn also outrebounded South Alabama, 34-23. Freshmen Dylan Cardwell led the team with a career-high six rebounds while fellow freshman Chris Moore pulled down five boards.
With the win, the Tigers made it 30 straight victories against non-conference opponents in Auburn Arena. They are 41-3 at home against non-conference opponents since Pearl took over and 47-4 at home overall since the beginning of the 2017-18 season.
Next up for Auburn is a date with Memphis in the Holiday Hoopsgiving event. The two sides will meet on Saturday, Dec. 12 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT.
