AUBURN, Ala. – No. 13 Auburn outscored North Alabama by 21 in the second half in a 70-44 victory Tuesday at sold-out Auburn Arena, the Tigers' sixth straight win.
"Pleased with the outcome. Second half, way better than the first half," said acting head coach Steven Pearl, filling in while his father, head coach Bruce Pearl, concluded a two-game suspension. "We have the best staff in the country. We knew what we had to do. We took it in stride and relied on each other."
One of four Tigers in double figures, Jabari Smith registered a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Smith's 3-pointer gave Auburn its largest lead, 30 points, with 4:35 to play.
Walker Kessler led Auburn with 14 points, adding eight rebounds and five blocked shots. The Tigers limited the Lions to 29.5 percent shooting including 1-of-10 on 3-pointers in the second half, in which UNA scored only 17 points.
"We're very strong defensively," Kessler said. "Our guards are not fun to play against. They're so scrappy. That's a big part of our identity. I think we're one of the best defensive teams in the country."
Devan Cambridge scored 13, including a thunderous dunk that elicited the loudest cheers of the night. Wendell Green Jr. added a dozen points and a game-high six assists.
Leading 32-27 at the half, Auburn outscored UNA 27-4 in the first 12 minutes of the second half.
Kessler asserted himself at both ends early in the second half to start an 11-0 run that gave Auburn a 45-29 lead. The 7-footer blocked a shot, drove and spun for a layup, then made two other close-range shots in a 61-second span.
"Our guards did a great job of getting the ball inside," Kessler said
Dylan Cardwell took over from there, assisting on Lior Berman's layup, scoring on a dunk, then blocking a shot and playing to the crowd.
Green's 3-pointer extended the lead to 52-31 before Cambridge's gravity-defying transition dunk left fans looking at the video board for replays.
Cambridge was 4-for-5, including 2-for-2 on 3-pointers, adding five rebounds and a steal in 25 minutes.
"He's running the court in transition, getting feeds," Pearl said. "When Devan simplifies what he does, he's incredibly effective and incredibly efficient."
Auburn outrebounded the Lions 29-16 in the second half to earn a 50-40 advantage on the boards, resulting in a 13-2 edge in second-chance points.
Any concern that Auburn might come out flat after Saturday's thrashing of Nebraska at an NBA venue in Atlanta were quickly dispelled when the Tigers grabbed a 7-0 lead while UNA missed its first seven shots.
Auburn built an 11-point lead in the first half before UNA's 10-0 run coincided with seven straight Auburn misses, trimming the Tigers' lead to 23-22. KD Johnson ended the run with a nifty reverse layup, then Smith's steal and slam restored Auburn's five-point lead.
The Tigers (9-1) play at Saint Louis Saturday at 8 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network and the Auburn Sports Network.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer