AUBURN, Ala. – Continuing a season-long trend, No. 21 Auburn wore down its opponent with superior depth, outscoring UCF by 14 points in the second half in Wednesday's 85-68 victory, the Tigers' 37th consecutive non-conference home win.
"I thought we wore them down defensively," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "Our depth was a factor. Our guards took the challenge seriously."
Walker Kessler registered his third double-double in Auburn's past four games with season highs of 17 points, 14 rebounds, six blocks and two steals.
"Being tall and playing hard," Kessler said of his penchant for double-doubles. "We were more aggressive attacking the rim and it showed."
"Walker was challenging everything at the rim and we were doing a better job of rebounding," Pearl said. "It was good to see Walker control the game on the inside."
Jabari Smith led the Tigers with 20 points, adding seven rebounds and four assists, while K.D. Johnson scored 11.
"It doesn't matter if I have two points or 20. I just want to win," Smith said. "When they call my number, I just want to make plays. Our biggest focus was to attack, get to the free-throw line. We came out in the second half with a lot more energy."
"Jabari doesn't play like a freshman," Pearl said. "He's a tough kid."
Leading by three points at the half, the Tigers built a 20-point second-half lead with an assortment of highlight-reel plays including Wendell Green Jr.'s logo 3-pointer and Johnson's steal and reverse dunk.
UCF was 1-11 on 3-point attempts in the second half while Auburn outrebounded the Knights 23-16 after halftime.
Auburn led 39-36 after a first half that featured six lead changes.
After one of Kessler's four first-half blocks, Green bounce passed in transition to Johnson for a layup that broke a 28-28 tie.
The Knights reclaimed the lead, but Smith hit a corner 3 to put Auburn ahead for good at 35-34, then after another Kessler block, Smith served up an alley-oop that Devan Cambridge slammed.
Smith, Cambridge and Lior Berman each hit a pair of 3s in the half as Auburn made 7 of 19 3-point attempts before intermission.
"Once again Lior Berman gave us great minutes," Pearl said. "He plays with toughness and physicality."
The Tigers (6-1) remain at Auburn Arena Saturday with a 1 p.m. CT tip vs. Yale.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
