BATON ROUGE, La. – Defense always travels. For No. 16 Auburn, it was the defense that carried the day in Baton Rouge on Wednesday as the Tigers locked down LSU and prevailed 67-49 to pick up another true road win.
It was Auburn's fourth straight win overall and first at LSU since 2017.
"Good road win. Great balance," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "To hold them to 49 points on 29 percent shooting, that's pretty spectacular."
LSU shot just 17 of 58 from the field and 4 of 20 from beyond the arc. The home Tigers didn't score a field goal over the final 6:27. And the 49 points from LSU was the second-lowest scoring output by an Auburn opponent this season.
Auburn's defense was especially stingy in the first half, holding LSU to just 21 points to take a 32-21 lead into the intermission. LSU opened the second half on an 11-2 run, but Auburn responded with a 15-2 run of its own and never looked back.
Offensively, Wendell Green Jr. and Jaylin Williams paced Auburn with 14 points apiece.
Green scored five straight points during that pivotal 15-2 run in the second half, knocking down a 3-pointer and then blowing by his defender for a lay-up on the next possession. It was the fourth straight game in double figures for the junior point guard, but what he was most proud of was the fact that he didn't commit a single turnover in 29 minutes.
"That's big," Green said. "I'm the point guard, we're on the road, I've got to lead the team with that. Hopefully I can keep that going."
"Wendell Green showed special," Pearl said. "I just think his tempo was really good. He controlled the game. He's running when it's time to run. We're not going too fast, putting guys in bad positions. And he's trusting our stuff."
Williams made it three straight games with 10 or more points and took over down the stretch. His three-point play at the 8-minute mark in the second half initiated a run of nine straight points by the senior to lead Auburn on a 9-2 run. He also shared the team lead in rebounds (7) and led the team in blocks (3).
Allen Flanigan, K.D. Johnson and Lior Berman each finished with eight points.
For Berman, it matched the career high he set against Nebraska last season. The walk-on scored five of the team's first 16 points Wednesday night as he buried a 3-pointer not long after checking in and then added a quick 2 inside off an out-of-bounds play.
"How about Lior Berman? Being able to come off the bench and belong," Pearl said. "He makes us a better team. He did last year. He's doing it again this year."
Berman saw extended minutes with Chris Moore out for the second straight game.
Though Flanigan just missed scoring in double figures, he shared the team lead with seven rebounds – all coming in the first half. He fouled out with two minutes to go. Dylan Cardwell also grabbed seven rebounds for Auburn and provided a spark in the first half with an alley-oop dunk off a pick-and-roll with Green. He had four points.
As a team, Auburn had eight players with four or more points against LSU and six players with four or more rebounds.
"That balance is what our calling card is," Pearl said. "We've got some guys that can win their position in this league. We had some guys win their position (tonight). Wendell won his position. Jaylin won his position. Allen and Lior combined probably won their position. That was significant. I think that balance is a good thing moving forward."
Auburn (15-3, 5-1) is back on the road Saturday against South Carolina. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on SEC Network.
LSU POSTGAME NOTES>> For the first time this season, Auburn started Wendell Green Jr., Zep Jasper, Allen Flanigan, Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome (1-0). Chris Moore did not start or suit up due to a right shoulder injury from the Ole Miss game.
>> For the second straight game, Auburn went with the starting five of Wendell Green Jr., Zep Jasper, Allen Flanigan, Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome (2-0).
>> The Tigers collected their fourth straight victory and are off to a 5-1 start in SEC play.
>> Wendell Green Jr. registered his fourth straight double-figure game with 14 points including another perfect night from the free throw line (3-for-3) at LSU. He has now gone 23-for-23 over the last four SEC games for the Tigers including his last two makes against No. 13 Arkansas on Jan. 7.
>> Allen Flanigan grabbed seven of the team's 22 first-half rebounds at LSU. He ended the night with eight points and seven rebounds.
>> Lior Berman was one of AU's leading scorers in the first half with five of his career-high tying eight points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field. He also set a season best in minutes played (16).
>> Jaylin Williams extended his double-digit scoring streak to three games with 14 points and seven rebounds at LSU. He scored nine of his points in the second half of play. It marked his ninth game this season in double figures.
>> Chris Moore did not suit up for the game at LSU (right shoulder injury). It was his second missed game of the season after playing and starting in the first 16 contests for the Tigers.
>> For the second consecutive contest in SEC play, the Auburn defense held LSU to the second-fewest first-half points by an opponent this season (21 points). The Tigers previously held Mississippi State to 22 first-half points and Northwestern to 19 first-half points.
>> LSU was held to 49 points which was the second-lowest scoring output by an Auburn opponent this season behind 42 points versus Northwestern on Nov. 23.
