AUBURN, Ala. – Tre Donaldson stayed right and ready.
The freshman point guard keyed a 9-0 run that helped No. 19 Auburn take control in Wednesday's 72-64 win over Georgia State, the Tigers 25th consecutive victory at Neville Arena and 45th straight non-conference home win.
"I feel like what separates me from a lot of other young guys is my mentality," Donaldson said. "Staying mentally prepared. Physically, I'm going to be prepared because I work so hard."
Donaldson, who played three minutes in the Tigers' three previous games, assisted to Dylan Cardwell, then drove for a basket and hit a 3-pointer to turn a one-point lead into double digits midway through the second half.
"It was great to see Tre Donaldson step up," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "It was great to see Tre make plays offensively and defensively. That's the best Tre has played, but Tre also has practiced really well. The bottom line is he took advantage of it when he was out there."
"He gave me the opportunity and I took the most of my opportunity and helped lead my team to a win," said Donaldson, who set career highs with six points, three assists, three steals and 18 minutes, adding two rebounds. "That's all I can ask for."
Auburn turned up the defensive intensity, equaling a season high with 11 blocks and forcing three shot clock violations in the second half while outscoring Georgia State 44-33 after intermission.
Jaylin Williams scored a season-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting and Wendell Green Jr. added 17 points, including 11-of-15 free throws, eclipsing the 1,000-career point mark.
"Having confidence and trusting your teammates to be there for you," Williams said. "It makes it easier when everyone has confidence."
"Jaylin Williams was the best player on the floor," Pearl said. "Jaylin Williams is capable of being the best player on the floor. [He] needs to act like it all the time, accept it, relish it and see if he can play better and do more."
Johni Broome added 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots.
A 9-2 Georgia State run gave the Panthers a six-point lead in the final minute of the first half before Green scored on an acrobatic drive and made a free throw to trim GSU's lead to 31-28 at halftime.
Green led the Tigers with nine points in the half with seven coming from the free-throw line.
Green reclaimed the lead for Auburn with 13:18 remaining in the second half with a 3-point play after Dylan Cardwell's offensive rebound.
The Tigers (9-1) conclude pre-SEC play with a West Coast road trip beginning Sunday in Los Angeles vs. Southern California and next Wednesday at Washington.
"We have got to improve in order to beat the team that are left on our schedule," Pearl said. "The last three games we have played, we have not played well enough to be able to continue to win."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
GEORGIA STATE POSTGAME NOTES>> For the eighth time this season, Auburn started Wendell Green Jr., Zep Jasper, Chris Moore, Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome (7-1).
>> K.D. Johnson, who played in 43-straight games for the Tigers, did not play against Georgia State due to Coach's decision.
>> With the win, Auburn improves to 7-1 in the all-time series with Georgia State. The Tigers have now won two-straight in the series next to an 83-65 victory on Nov. 14, 2016 in Auburn.
>> Georgia State committed an opponent season-high 25 fouls to which the Tigers converted into 19 made free throws.
>> The Tigers, who continue to lead the nation in blocked shots per game, made a season-high tying 11 blocks behind four from Johni Broome and three from Jaylin Williams against Georgia State. It was AU's 63rd-straight game with a block.
>> Wendell Green Jr. extended his double-digit scoring streak to four games with 17 points including 11-of-15 shooting from the free throw line versus Georgia State. He has gone an impressive 26-for-33 from charity in the last four outings versus Saint Louis, Colgate, Memphis and GSU. Green recorded his 1,000th career point on a made free throw at the 7:01 minute mark of the second half of play.
>>Jaylin Williams reached double figures for the fourth time this season with a season-and game-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, 2-for-3 shooting from the 3-point line and 2-for-2 from charity against Georgia State. It marked his third career 20-point outing.
>> Tre Donaldson came off the bench and played a career-high 18 minutes registering a career-high six points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field with a 3-pointer versus Georgia State.
>> The Tigers have now won 45-consecutive non-conference home games at Neville Arena.
>> Auburn has now won 25-straight home games at Neville Arena dating back to the final two home games during the 2020-21 season. It is currently tie as the third longest home-court win streak in the country behind Gonzaga (72), Texas Tech (27) and Kentucky (25).