AUBURN, Ala. – No. 15 Auburn made a season-high 10 3-pointers and placed four scorers in double figures to cruise past Colgate 93-66 Friday at Neville Arena, the Tigers' highest output of the season.
"We played well," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "I'm glad we finally started shooting the ball a little bit."
The victory extended to 44 Auburn's streak of consecutive non-conference home wins and was the Tigers' 24th overall consecutive home win.
Auburn improved to 8-0, one of 16 unbeaten D-I teams as December commenced.
K.D. Johnson led Auburn with 16 points while Wendell Green Jr. and Johni Broome each scored 13 and Allen Flanigan added 12. Broome led Auburn with nine rebounds and four steals.
"When you're coming in the Jungle and we're stopping you like that and our offense is flowing like that, we're going to be hard to stop," Johnson said.
Four Tigers flirted with double figures, with Dylan Cardwell scoring nine points while Yohan Traore, Chris Moore and Chance Westry each scored eight. Auburn's bench outscored Colgate's 44-9.
"If we're going to be able to beat the better teams on our schedule, it's time for those young, talented players to be able to step in and not have us drop off," Pearl said. "They've still got a lot to learn, but they played better."
Lior Berman's corner 3-pointer capped an 8-0 Auburn run that gave the Tigers an early 10-point lead. Auburn led by as many as 19 before Colgate closed the gap to 47-33 at the half.
"Lior Berman got in the rotation because we were down Jaylin Williams," Pearl said. "It's good to have that depth. That was very important. Lior was in there in a very crucial role in the first half and played very well."
Colgate lived up to its reputation for quality 3-point shooting, hitting 57.1 percent in the half, but Auburn was even hotter from outside, sinking 7 of 12 first-half 3s for a 58.3 percent clip. The Tigers shot 45.5 percent from 3-point range for the game, making 10 of 22 attempts.
"I was glad to see us get some rhythm 3s," Pearl said. "A number of guys should be feeling well about how they're shooting it."
Johnson made all three of his 3-point attempts in the half and led the Tigers with 13 points before landing hard on a drive as the half ended.
"I finally got myself going from outside the line," said Johnson, who made 4 of 5 3-pointers and scored his 16 points in only 17 minutes. "I'm thankful for my teammates for giving me the ball in the right spots. That was a great feeling to get back on track."
Broome's steal and bucket pushed Auburn's lead to 25 points at 78-53 with 7:54 to play.
"That's Auburn basketball, that's our bread and butter when we can lock down, get stops and we're able to knock down shots," said Flanigan, who made 5 of 7 shots including going 2-for-3 on 3-pointers while grabbing seven rebounds. "We're pretty hard to contain in transition, running the floor, guys getting to their spots and knocking down shots."
After taking a break from competition during finals week, Auburn will play Memphis next Saturday at 4 p.m. CT at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
COLGATE POSTGAME NOTES
>> For the first time this season, Auburn started Wendell Green Jr., Zep Jasper, Chris Moore, Allen Flanigan and Johni Broome (1-0). It marked Flanigan's 51st career start in 88 games played for the Tigers.
>>Jaylin Williams, who started all seven of the Tigers' games of the season, did not suit up for the game due to illness.
>> With the win, Auburn improves to 2-0 in the all-time series with Colgate. It was the second time to play the Raiders on the Tigers' home court.
>> The Tigers drained a season-high 10 3-pointers in the ballgame. It was the most since making 10 3-pointers versus South Carolina on March 5, 2022.
>> Auburn reset season highs in most points scored (93) and bench points scored (44). The Tigers previously scored a season-high 89 points versus Winthrop on Nov. 15 and a season-high 41 bench points versus Bradley on Nov. 22.
>> K.D. Johnson scored 13 of his team-high 16 points in the first half of play versus Colgate. It marked his first game in double figures in the first half since 12 points at Georgia on Feb. 5, 2022. Also his 42nd career game to score in double digits.
>> Wendell Green Jr. turned in 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field against Colgate. It was his sixth double-figure game this season and 49th of his career.
>> Chance Westry recorded a career-high eight points with two steals in 17 minutes of action against Colgate.
>> For the third time this season, Allen Flanigan reached double figures with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field versus Colgate. It was his 30th of his career.
>> Johni Broome recorded a career-high four steals to go along with 13 points and nine rebounds against the Raiders.
>> The Tigers have now won 44-consecutive non-conference home games at Neville Arena.
>> Auburn has now won 24-straight home games at Neville Arena dating back to the final two home games during the 2020-21 season. It is currently the fourth-longest home-court win streak in the country.
>> In back-to-back games, AU made a season-low tying eight turnovers.
>> The Auburn defense held Colgate, who ranked No. 16 nationally in 3-point field-goal percentage, to single-digit 3-pointers (8) in game for only the fifth time this season.