COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Wendell Green Jr. scored 15 of his team-high 20 points in the second half, but it wasn't enough as Auburn dropped another tough SEC road game Tuesday night, falling 83-78 at Texas A&M.
"You score 78 on the road in here against a really good defensive team, it's enough to win," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "But our second-half defense let us down. We fouled them too much. It didn't matter if we were playing man or if we were playing zone, we just couldn't keep them off the foul line."
Green took over down the stretch for the Tigers, making tough shots and setting up his teammates.
With the game tied at 57, Green scored or assisted on Auburn's next 13 points. He threw lobs to Jaylin Williams and Dylan Cardwell for alley-oops. He banked in a difficult fadeaway and followed that with another tough deuce inside on the very next possession, drawing the foul and still getting the bucket to go, to give the Tigers a 63-62 lead.
It was the fourth 20-point game of the season for Green who also led the team with six assists and reached 100 assists for the third straight season.
Johni Broome had an outstanding night in his own right with 18 points and 10 rebounds despite being limited in the second half due to foul trouble. Broome picked up his fourth foul with more than 10 minutes remaining and then fouled out in the final minute.
"Johni Broome got in some foul trouble, and it affected our post defense a little bit," Pearl said.
While on the court, Broome was nearly unstoppable. The sophomore big man was 8-of-11 from the field and recorded his eighth double-double of the season. He's now scored 10 or more points in six straight games.
Seniors Allen Flanigan and Jaylin Williams also finished in double figures with 12 points apiece. Flanigan was second on the team with six rebounds while Williams went 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and added four rebounds and four assists.
In the first half, Auburn jumped out to a 22-14 lead on the heels of a 15-2 run. The run included 3-pointers from Williams, K.D. Johnson and Lior Berman and was capped by Broome who threw down an alley-oop from Green on a give-and-go.
The lead grew to as many as 12 at one point, but Texas A&M responded with a 12-2 run of its own to end the half and took a 37-36 lead into the locker room at the break.
After giving up 30 points to Tyrece Radford in the first meeting a couple weeks back, Auburn held the Texas A&M guard to just 10 points Tuesday. However, Wade Taylor and Julius Marble each had 20 or more points for the Aggies. Taylor scored a game-high 22.
Offensively, Auburn shot it better than Texas A&M and turned the ball over less, but the Tigers couldn't overcome a 39-14 discrepancy in free throw attempts.
"Take it one at a time," Pearl said. "(This game) tells you these kids are buying into the scouts. It tells you they're preparing. It tells you they're grinding. We were ready to play. We started both halves well. Wes Flanigan and Chad Prewett did a great job with the scout. We played a lot of good basketball out here. We've just got to build on it."
Auburn will be back home Saturday where they'll host No. 2 Alabama at 1 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ESPN. ESPN's College GameDay will also be on the Plains this Saturday, airing live from Neville Arena at 10 a.m. CT. TEXAS A&M POSTGAME NOTES>> For the eighth consecutive contest, Auburn started Wendell Green Jr., Zep Jasper, Allen Flanigan, Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome (4-4).
>> Texas A&M improved to 15-6 in the all-time series with Auburn and has now won three straight.
>> Wendell Green Jr. recorded a team-high 20 points and six assists against the Aggies. It was his fourth 20-point game of the season and 16th of his career, and he reached 100+ assists for the the third straight season.
>> Johni Broome extended his double-digit scoring streak to six games with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field before fouling out at Texas A&M. He also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. It was his eighth double-double performance of the season and 43rd of his career. Broome scored 10 of his 18 points in the first half – the fifth time this season to reach double figures before the half and second time in the last three contests.
>> The Tigers knocked down nine 3-pointers in the ballgame behind a 3-for-5 performance from Jaylin Williams, who ended the night with 12 points.
>> Allen Flanigan scored 10 of its his 12 points in the first half at Texas A&M. It marked the second time in the last four games he's reached double figures in the first half. He had 10 first-half points at West Virginia on Jan. 28.
>> Dylan Cardwell returned to the lineup at Texas A&M after missing the Tennessee game due to illness. He played nine minutes and had three rebounds against the Aggies.
>> Auburn is now 6-5 this season when games are decided by single digits. Three of the last four have been decided by five points or less – at West Virginia (-3), at Tennessee (-3) and at Texas A&M (-5).
