AUBURN, Ala. – Simon says, “Swish.”
In his Auburn debut, freshman Simon Walker made all five of his 3-point attempts, scoring 15 points in the final seven minutes of No. 22 Auburn’s 112-66 victory over Jackson State Wednesday at Neville Arena.
“Definitely a lot of nerves there, especially coming off an injury and not having a ton of reps,” Walker said. “Once you get out there and the ball’s in play, you only have time to react. I know one thing, shooters shoot. It was good to get that weight off my shoulders and get settled in. You see the first one hit the bottom of the net and you’re like, ‘Oh, here we go.’”
Less than two months after foot surgery, Walker entered with Auburn leading by 45 and immediately starting draining 3s.
“Not ideal timing coming right before the first official practice,” Walker said of his injury. “This university gave me the best resources and the best people to help me get back to 100 percent. I have a lot of confidence because of the people around me. They’ve been pushing me the past eight weeks to get back to where I was before.”
Playing without leading scorer Keyshawn Hall, Auburn shared the scoring load, placing five in double figures.
“I want to thank the fans. An 8 o’clock game on a Wednesday is a big ask, and to have as many students and fans in the seats was phenomenal,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “They brought a lot of energy.”
KeShawn Murphy led the way with 19 points. Filip Jovic scored a career-high 18, Walker added 15, Elyjah Freeman scored 14 and Kevin Overton chipped in 13. That Fab Five combined to make 29 of 38 field goals, a 76.3-percent clip.
“We did what we were supposed to do,” Pearl said.
The Tigers started fast with three double-digit runs in the first half.
Auburn’s press created turnovers with Freeman scoring after a steal, then hitting a 3-pointer during an 11-0 run that gave the Tigers a 23-9 lead.
Sebastian Williams-Adams hit a 3-pointer before Freeman ended a 13-0 run with a slam that put Auburn ahead by 23 points.
Overton and Murphy hit late 3-pointers to help the Tigers take a 55-24 halftime lead.
Jovic produced a big second half, making 4 of 5 shots with three dunks and a layup.
“Amazing experience for me to be here to be part of this organization,” Jovic said.
Murphy showcased his ballhandling his skills after making a steal and driving for a slam.
Blake Muschalek energized The Jungle with a 3-pointer before Kaden Magwood’s steal and slam doubled the score to 90-45.
Magwood lobbed to Emeka Opurum for an alley-oop that gave the Tigers 100 points. Magwood led the Tigers with eight assists.
Scout teamer CJ Williams hit a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key, delighting Auburn’s bench, before Walker closed the scoring with his final two 3s in the last minute.
“Simon attacks everything aggressively,” Pearl said. “Guys who can make shots and can sit down and defend are going to have a chance to play. Simon’s a specialist in that area. He plays with a ton of confidence, so it was great to see him have some success.”
Auburn (4-1) heads to Las Vegas next to compete in the Players Era Championship. The Tigers take on Oregon Monday at 7 p.m. CT on truTV and the Auburn Sports Network.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer