AUBURN, Ala. – Dylan Cardwell met Boogie Ellis in midair, blocking the USC star's shot and playing to the crowd in a decibel-cranking sequence that summarized Sunday's 91-75 Auburn win at Neville Arena.
One of five Tigers in double figures, Cardwell scored a career-high 11 points and grabbed a team-high five rebounds, adding three steals, two blocked shots and two assists.
"That's the best Dylan Cardwell's played on both ends of the floor," Auburn coach Bruce pearl said. "Dylan is such a great ambassador for us. He does it on and off the court, in the community. When he plays like this, the next level is a possibility for him. We won the battle at point guard and we won the battle in the paint with our five men. Those are two important wins."
Aden Holloway led Auburn with 15 points, hitting a deep 3-pointer for the Tigers' final bucket against a team that features future NBA lottery picks and the sons of NBA stars Lebron James and Dennis Rodman.
"Of course it's going to get you a little juiced up and ready to play," Holloway said of the ESPN telecast, Southern California's lineup and approximately 45 NBA scouts in attendance. "I feel like this team (Auburn) can be a great team. When me and Tre (Donaldson) are playing well, it's hard to stop when you have two floor generals who know how to run the offense and get guys the ball without turning the ball over."
Holloway dished out six assists without committing any of Auburn's eight turnovers, the Tigers' third straight game with single-digit turnovers.
Jaylin Williams scored 14 points, Denver Jones added 12 and Johni Broome added 11 while leading Auburn with four blocked shots.
Basketball hall of famer Charles Barkley congratulated the Tigers as the game concluded, joining the team at midcourt for its postgame prayer.
Auburn University students took a break from their break, returning to The Jungle en masse to create a home-court advantage reminiscent of an SEC Saturday.
"Great crowd tonight. I want to thank the Auburn students for coming back from break," Pearl said. "We've got three more games at home before we start league play. Right now the focus will be about the kids' recovery and rest. We'll get some great lifts this week and individual workouts and see if we can build on this."
Leading by 14 at the half, Auburn extended its lead to 23 midway through the second half on Tre Donaldson's 3-point play. Donaldson scored seven points and had five assists with only one turnover.
"They value possessions, and they understand advantage-disadvantage in transition," Pearl said of Auburn's point guards, who combined for 22 points, 11 assists and only one turnover. "They shared it."
Auburn scored 49 first-half points with Williams providing a dozen on 5-of-7 shooting. Williams hit a corner 3-pointer off the opening tip against USC's zone defense.
Trailing by three early, Auburn scored 11 straight points, ending the run on Cardwell's dunk after an assist from Donaldson, who combined with Holloway to distribute eight first-half assists without any turnovers.
Auburn ended the half with a 6-0 run on 3-pointers from Jones and Holloway to put the Tigers ahead 49-35.
Seeking their fourth straight win and the program's 50th consecutive non-conference home victory, the Tigers (8-2) remain at Neville Arena Friday when they host Alabama State at 7 p.m. CT.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
USC POSTGAME NOTES
>> This is Auburn's first win over USC in the four-game series history between the two teams. Today's game was the first time the Tigers and Trojans have met in Auburn.
>> Auburn has led at halftime in all but one game this season including holding a 49-35 lead at halftime versus the Trojans. The Tigers are 8-1 on the season when leading at halftime.
>> Auburn has now won 49 consecutive games at Neville Arena against non-conference opponents.
>> Today's game was played in front of a sold-out crowd of 9,121, which is the 43rd-consecutive sellout at Neville Arena.
>> With the 16-point win, all eight of Auburn's wins this season have come by at least 15 points and have been by an average of 21.5 points.
>> Auburn outshot USC 47.5 percent to 40.0 percent from the floor. The Tigers have outshot all but one opponent this season.
>> AU finished the game with just eight turnovers. It was the fourth time in the last five games, including three-straight games, that the Tigers have had single-digit turnovers. It was the first time an Auburn team has had three-straight games with single-digit turnovers since having nine turnovers at Texas A&M and Missouri and against Georgia from Feb. 28, 2015, to March 7, 2015.
>> Auburn scored 42 points in the paint in its win over USC. It was the fifth time in the last six games the Tigers have scored at least 40 points in the paint. Over that stretch, Auburn has averaged 41.3 points in the paint.
>> Eleven Tigers scored in a game for the third time this season and the second-straight game. Auburn had 11 players scored against Alabama A&M and UNC Asheville already this season.
>> Aden Holloway led five Auburn players in double figures with 15 points on 5-of-10 field goals and 4-of-7 3-pointers on Sunday afternoon. He tied his career high with six assists to go with a pair of rebounds in the win over the Trojans. It was Holloway's sixth game in double figures in his freshman season. He is shooting 25-of-63 from long range and has four games with at least four 3-point field goals on the season.
>> Jaylin Williams scored 14 points on 6-of-9 from the floor and 2-of-4 from 3-point range and added three rebounds and two assists against USC. It was Williams' fifth game in double figures this season and the 47th of his career.
>> Denver Jones added 12 points on 2-of-4 field goals, 2-of-2 3-pointers and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line and finished the day with three rebounds, one steal and one assist in the win over USC. It was Jones' fourth game in double figures this season and the 50th of his career.
>> Johni Broome scored 11 points, blocked a season-high four shots and pulled down three rebounds versus USC. It was Broome's eighth game in double figures this season and the 91st of his career.
>> Dylan Cardwell scored a career-high 11 points on 4-of-5 field goals and 3-of-4 free throws to go with a team-high five rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks in the win. It was Cardwell's third career game in double figures as he became the 10th different player to score in double figures this season.