AUBURN, Ala. – K.D. Johnson and Jaylin Williams both reached the 1,000-point milestone Friday night in Neville Arena, and Auburn made it 50 straight non-conference home wins under head coach Bruce Pearl with an 82-62 victory over Alabama State.
Johnson was first to hit 1,000 career points. Needing just five points coming in, the senior knocked down his second 3-pointer of the game late in the first half to go over 1,000. At the next timeout, his teammates celebrated with him.
"I was trying to see what they were jumping on me for," Johnson said. "But they hadn't turned around, and then I heard it on the intercom. It kind of lit me up going through that. I appreciate that moment."
Johnson finished with 13 points, his third game this season in double figures.
Williams came in 17 points away from 1,000, but the fifth-year senior led the Tigers with 20 points in Friday's win. He hit the 1,000 mark in the second half with a left-handed lay-up in transition, and then nearly brought the house down with a one-handed alley-oop dunk from Tre Donaldson the next time down the court.
"I have to say it's about time," the fifth-year senior joked. "I've been around a little while."
Williams became the 39th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points at Auburn. Johnson scored 1,000 points combined at Auburn and Georgia.
"Congratulations to Jaylin Williams," Pearl said. "What a great game he had on both ends of the floor. He has been tremendously consistent over the last couple weeks. It was also great to see K.D. – that ball going in for him. I thought K.D. brought great energy into his rotation at the start of the first half where it really kind of ignited our defense."
Both Johnson and Williams told their mothers not to come to the game.
"I felt bad because I told my mom she didn't have to come to the game today because I was traveling in the morning to go home for her birthday," Williams said. "But it was a blessing to share that with my teammates. I know they're very proud of me, and my coaching staff."
"Same for me," added Johnson. "I actually told my mom not to come down here because we've got to get back on the road. That was crazy. It was a shock for me to score my 1,000th point today. But it was a blessing. I'm thankful."
Johni Broome also scored in double figures for the Tigers, finishing with 16 points while pulling down a team-best 13 rebounds. It was the sixth double-double of the season for Broome and the 51st of his career. He added three blocks and a season-high three steals.
After a slow start in the early going, Auburn found its groove midway through the first half. The Tigers went on a 12-3 run capped by another alley-oop dunk from Williams. The lob on this one came from Aden Holloway whose 3-pointer a couple possessions later was the sixth straight made field goal by Auburn at the time.
Later in the first half, Tre Donaldson connected on a 3-pointer with a foot practically on the midcourt logo. As a team, the Tigers shot 57.1 percent for the half, 41.7 percent from beyond the arc and took a 46-25 lead into the intermission.
Defensively, Auburn held Alabama State to 39.3 percent shooting from the floor and 22.2 percent from long range. It's the sixth time this season the Tigers have held an opponent to under 40 percent shooting from the floor. They also matched their season high with 11 steals.
With the win, Auburn has now won 50 consecutive non-conference home games under Pearl. It's a streak that dates back to the 2015-16 season and began with a 92-62 victory over Georgia Southern on Nov. 20, 2015.
"History matters to me. It does," Pearl said. "It's easier to get something going than it is to keep it going. It's harder to keep this thing going than it was for me to get it going. But it does matter that over a period of eight years we haven't lost a home game in the non-conference."
Auburn (9-2) will be back in Neville Arena on Saturday, Dec. 30 to host Chattanooga. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. CT and will be televised on SEC Network.
ALABAMA STATE POSTGAME NOTES
» Auburn improves to 6-0 in the all-time series with Alabama State and 38-0 against members of the SWAC.
» The victory was Auburn's 50th consecutive non-conference win at Neville Arena under Bruce Pearl.
» The Tigers also played in front of their 44th consecutive sellout crowd at Neville Arena (9,121).
» Auburn has now won four straight games. It marks the second time this season the Tigers have won at least four straight games after winning five straight from Nov. 10-29.
» AU has led at halftime in all but one game this season including holding a 46-25 advantage at intermission tonight against the Hornets. The Tigers are 9-1 when leading at halftime.
» Eleven Tigers scored in a game for the fourth time this season including each of the last three games.
» Auburn shot 26-of-32 (81.3 pct.) from the free throw line against Alabama State. The Tigers have shot 83-of-102 (81.4 pct.) over the last four games and have shot at least 78 percent in all four of those games.
» Auburn matched its season high with 11 steals, which it previously set against Virginia Tech. Eight Tigers recorded a steal against Alabama State, led by Johni Broome, who registered an Auburn career-high three steals in the victory.
» The Tigers held Alabama State to 39.3 percent (22-of-56) shooting from the floor and 22.2 percent (4-of-18) from 3-point range. It was the sixth time this season AU has held an opponent to under 40 percent shooting from the floor and the fourth time it has held an opponent to under 30 percent shooting from long range.
» Auburn outrebounded Alabama State, 41-27. The Tigers are now 6-1 when they outrebound an opponent this season. The plus-14 margin is the fifth time this season Auburn has posted a rebounding margin of plus-10 or better.
» Graduate senior forward Jaylin Williams and senior guard K.D. Johnson each reached 1,000 career points in Friday night's game. Williams led Auburn with 20 points on 7-of-10 field goals and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line to go with three rebounds, one assist and one steal. It was his sixth career 20-point game and his second of the season (24 points vs. Indiana). He has now scored 1,003 career points to date. Williams became the 39th player in program history to reach 1,000-career point plateau.
» Johnson tallied 13 points on 3-of-5 three-pointers and 4-of-4 from the foul line. He also added two rebounds and two steals on the night. It was his 54th career game in double figures and his third of the season. Johnson has now scored 1,008 career points to date, which includes 792 points in three seasons at Auburn.
» Johni Broome recorded his sixth double-double of the season and the 51st of his career with 16 points and a season-high-tying 13 rebounds against Alabama State. He added three blocks, a season-high three steals and one assist in the victory.
