GREENVILLE, S.C. – Behind a second-half surge, the preseason No. 11-ranked Auburn men’s basketball team blew past Furman, 83-62, in exhibition play on Sunday afternoon at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
It was a low-scoring first half as the Tigers went 10-of-36 from the field and Paladins 8-of-23. By halftime, Auburn found its rhythm to build a 36-29 lead.
“We missed a lot of shots,” head coach Bruce Pearl said. “The front line in the first half only made two baskets. We only made 10 field goals in the first half. When we look back at the tape, we will like where we got the ball. We just didn’t finish or execute. I thought our energy was okay and I hope that we can build it up a bit. It’s a 20-point road win. This is a team like App State (who can make it very difficult on the road). From that standpoint, I’m pleased with the outcome.”
All-American big man Johni Broome led the way for the Tigers with an 18-point, 14-rebound double-double performance against the Paladins. He was one of five players in double figures including freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford, who scored 13 in his Auburn debut.
“The first half we started off slow,” Pettiford said. “We made sure, when we came in here, to pressure them. That was part of the game plan today. We put a lot of pressure on their ball handlers to take them out of their shots. They made a little run and it’s a game of runs. We just made sure we stayed composed.”
The Tigers’ defense forced Furman into committing 18 turnovers – eight of those in the second half where they led by as many as 25 with 6:07 remaining in regulation. Veterans Chad Baker-Mazara and Chaney Johnson contributed to the scoring arsenal with 13 and 10 respectively.
“Chaney had a really good second half and picked up his play up,” Pearl said. “Chad was +29 for the game. When he’s on the floor, he makes so much happen. He’s so good on both ends of the floor.
“If you look at the stat sheet, some of our better shooters just didn’t make shots. Part of it is playing at the tempo we are playing at, playing hard defensively and our offense a bit out of rhythm.”
Auburn hosts Florida Atlantic in its final exhibition tune-up on Friday night at Neville Arena. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. The charity exhibition game will benefit AU’s Melton Scholars Program.
POSTGAME NOTES
• Auburn went with the starting five of JP Pegues, Denver Jones, Chris Moore, Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell.
• The Furman exhibition game (Oct. 27) marked the earliest start to a season in program history.
• Johni Broome was in All-American form recording a double-double with 18 points and a game-high 14 rebounds versus the Paladins.
• Freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford made his unofficial collegiate debut with 13 points including two big 3-pointers in the first half of play.
• Nine of Auburn’s 11 players who checked into the ballgame contributed to the scoring column including 10 points off the bench from Jahki Howard in his unofficial collegiate debut.
• It was a block party at Bon Secours Wellness Arena with Broome (2), Dylan Cardwell (2), Chaney Johnson (2), Chad Baker-Mazara (1) and Jahki Howard (1) joining in on the fun.
• The Tigers stole the ball 11 times behind four steals from Baker-Mazara.