SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The only SEC team to tip off the season against a ranked opponent, Auburn led No. 20 Baylor for most of the game until the Bears took control down the stretch to defeat the Tigers 88-82 Tuesday at Sanford Pentagon.
"We held our own, but for me it's a missed opportunity," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "This hurts the SEC, it hurts our league. We did not do what we came here to do. We're a better team than we played tonight."
In his Auburn debut, freshman point guard Aden Holloway led the Tigers with 19 points and six assists. Johni Broome scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Denver Jones added 13 points in his first Auburn game.
After K.D. Johnson's jumper gave Auburn a 77-72 lead with 4:26 to play, Baylor scored 11 unanswered points while the Tigers were scoreless for 3 minutes and 11 seconds.
Baylor quickly cut into Auburn's nine-point halftime lead with Ja'Kobe Walter scoring six points in 31 seconds on a 3-point play and a 3-point shot. Walter led all scorers with 28 points.
After the Bears pulled within one, Broome hit a pair of 3-pointers sandwiched between three Holloway 3-pointers to preserve the Tigers' lead.
Holloway assisted to Dylan Cardwell for a layup that gave Auburn a 75-69 lead but Baylor hit a pair of free throws then made a steal and a 3-pointer that tied the score at 77-77 with 3 minutes to play.
Baylor took its first lead since the first half with a dunk after another Auburn turnover. Jones hit a 3-pointer with 19 seconds to play to pull Auburn within three but the Tigers would get no closer.
Auburn was whistled for 32 fouls while Baylor was called for 22. The Bears made 27 of 34 free throws while the Tigers were 17-for-25 from the line.
"We played our bench in the second half," Pearl said. "We should have been the fresher team in the second half but we weren't. We've got to do a better job of defending without fouling. We were in foul trouble in the second half and didn't play as well in the second half as we did in the first."
Jones hit a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left in the first half to give Auburn a 43-34 lead at the break, the largest advantage for either team to that point.
Jones led the Tigers with eight points in the half while Broome and Chad Baker-Mazara each added seven points.
Auburn forced 11 turnovers in the half and blocked five shots, leading to a 10-2 lead in fastbreak points and a 14-6 edge in points off turnovers. Cardwell finished with half of Auburn's 10 blocked shots.
Baylor outrebounded the Tigers 21-16 in the half, including a 9-4 advantage in offensive rebounds and outscored Auburn 6-2 in second-chance points. Auburn outrebounded Baylor in the second half to even that category at 38-38.
The Tigers (0-1) play their home opener Friday at 7 p.m. vs. Southeastern Louisiana at Neville Arena in Tipoff on The Plains.
