BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Playing on the big stage in the Big Apple, Auburn used balanced scoring and fast starts in each half to defeat Notre Dame 83-59 Thursday in the Legends Classic at Barclays Center.
"The second half was the best we've looked in the second half in a while," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said of the Tigers' 44-26 advantage. "I think the guys are definitely locked in. We did what we were supposed to do tonight. We played great second half defense. It's a good win for our league."
Auburn will play St. Bonaventure Friday in the championship game. The Bonnies beat Oklahoma State 66-64 in Thursday's first game.
Aden Holloway and Johni Broome each scored 15 points to lead five Tigers in double figures. Jaylin Williams added 11 points while Tre Donaldson and Chris Moore each scored 10.
Holloway and Donaldson combined for 10 assists with only two turnovers.
"Outstanding point guard play. Aden and Tre have done a great job all year long," Pearl said. "They've had great competition all summer and fall. We're going to have a good point guard out there at all times. We shared the ball well."
Leading 39-33 at the half, the Tigers opened the second half with 13 consecutive points, including a 4-point play from Holloway.
Moore's putback put the Tigers ahead 54-34 at the 16:20 mark of the second half. Broome's 3-pointer gave Auburn a 24-point lead.
Auburn dominated the boards early in the second half, outrebounding Notre Dame 10-1 in the opening minutes to overcome a first half rebounding disadvantage.
The Tigers shot 53.4 percent for the game while holding Notre Dame to 33.9 percent shooting. Notre Dame was 0-for-13 on 3-pointers in the second half and just 2-for-26 for the game, a 7.7-percent clip.
"Holding Notre Dame to 22 percent away from our bench like that, the guys took pride in it," Pearl said of Auburn's second half defense.
Auburn raced out to a quick double-digit lead thanks to a 9-0 run that included three Broome buckets and a Holloway 3-pointer.
Donaldson's steal and 3-pointer, followed by another Donaldson jumper, extended the lead, which reached 14 points on Williams' 3-pointer.
Holloway's 3-pointer gave Auburn its biggest lead of the half at 34-19 with 3:51 to play before Notre Dame closed the half on a 14-5 run while hitting 5 of its last 6 shots.
While Auburn shot 53.8 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range in the first half, the Fighting Irish missed their first 11 3-pointers before making their last two.
Notre Dame stayed in the game by grabbing nine offensive rebounds and scoring 11 second-chance points while outrebounding Auburn 21-13 in the half before the Tigers got the best of the boards in the second half.
The Tigers (2-1) and Bonnies tip off Friday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2 and the Auburn Sports Network.
"We have an opportunity to win a championship tomorrow," Pearl said. "Let's see if we can keep getting better."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Notre Dame Postgame Notes>> Tonight's game was the first-ever meeting between Auburn and Notre Dame.
>> Auburn improved to 5-0 all-time in the Legends Classic after winning the event in 2019 with home wins over CSUN and Colgate and victories over New Mexico and Richmond in Brooklyn.
>> The 24-point win is Auburn's largest margin of victory against a power conference opponent in non-conference play since beating Nebraska, 99-68, in 2021.
>> Auburn has scored at least 82 points in all three games and is averaging 83.7 points per game to begin the season. It is the first time the Tigers have scored at least 80 points in three-straight games since doing so in six-straight games during the 2021-22 season.
>> Auburn had five players in double figures against Notre Dame. It was the first time the Tigers have had at least five players score in double figures since six players scored in double figures against Iowa in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
>> Auburn shot 53.4 percent (31-of-58) from the field against the Irish. It was the Tigers' highest field-goal percentage since shooting 56.3 percent against Georgia last season.
>> Auburn made 9-of-20 from 3-point range against Notre Dame. The Tigers are averaging 9.7 3-pointers per game on 40.8 percent shooting on the season.
>> Auburn scored 24 points off 13 Notre Dame turnovers. It is the Tigers' most points off turnovers since scoring 25 points off turnovers against Arkansas last season.
>> Auburn recorded 21 assists on 31 field goals. It is the second-straight game the Tigers have finished with 21 assists. On the season, Auburn is averaging 20.0 assists per game and has assisted on 68.2 percent of its field goals.
>> Auburn scored 30 bench points against Notre Dame. The Tigers have scored at least 30 bench points in all three games this season. Auburn's reserves are averaging 38.3 points per game this season and have accounted for 45.8 percent of the team's scoring on the season.
>> Freshman Aden Holloway scored 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range in the win over Notre Dame. It is Holloway's third-straight game in double figures to begin his career. For the season, he is averaging 15 points per game and shooting 11-of-21 (52.4 percent) from long range.
>> Johni Broome matched Holloway for team-high honors with 15 points to go with six rebounds, four assists and a block. He shot 7-of-11 from the floor and 1-of-2 from deep. Broome is averaging 16.3 points and 9.3 rebounds this season and shooting 18-of-33 from the floor including 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
>> Jaylin Williams recorded his first game in double figures on the season and the 43rd of his career with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting against Notre Dame. He added seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks on the night.
>> Tre Donaldson recorded his first game in double figures of the season with 10 points. Donaldson added five assists, one rebound and one steal and played turnover-free basketball in 17 minutes. Donaldson has registered nine assists and only one turnover in the last two games.
>> Chris Moore scored 10 points, pulled down four rebounds and dished out two assists in the win over Notre Dame. It was Moore's first game in double figures this season and the sixth of his career.