Auburn Takes Down FAU 102-70 in Final Exhibition

In their final tune-up before the season officially begins, the Auburn Tigers took care of business against Florida Atlantic.

Auburn's Denver Jones (2) during the game between the #11 Auburn Tigers and the Florida Atlantic Owls / Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers

The No. 11 Auburn Tigers took on the Florida Atlantic Owls at home in their final exhibition before officially getting the 2024-25 season underway and came away with a 102-70 victory.

Preseason First-team All-American Johni Broome made his presence known in Neville Arena tonight, eliminating any doubt surrounding his placement on that list. Broome ended up with 15 points, nine rebounds, two assists, four blocks and two steals.

Much like it did against Furman, Auburn controlled the glass which helped it comfortably pick up the win. The Tigers out-rebounded the Owls 41-33 overall, 13-9 on the offensive end, leading to a 15-5 advantage for the Tigers in second-chance points, and 28-26 on the defensive end. 

Miles Kelly, who did not play against Furman after missing some time due to an illness, made the most of his unofficial Auburn debut. In 20 minutes on the floor, Kelly was one of five Tigers to post double figures in the points column along with his five rebounds.

After a slow start out of the gate, a 19-1 run toward the middle of the first half allowed Auburn to take control and it never gave it back.

Auburn shot 48.5% from the field, 37.8% from 3-point range and 68.8% from the free-throw line. The Tigers were led in scoring by Broome and Kelly, Broome in rebounds with nine, followed closely by Chaney Johnson who had seven, and Chad Baker-Mazara in assists with six.

Florida Atlantic shot 39.6#from the field, 18.8# from 3-point range and 64.1% from the free-throw line. The Owls were led in scoring and rebounding by Kaleb Glenn with 16 and eight respectively. Devin Vanterpool and Leland Walker co-led in assists with two each.

Another similarity to their exhibition win over Furman on Sunday was the Tigers’ freshmen having a good showing. Jahki Howard had 14 points, one assist and four steals. Tahaad Pettiford recorded 12 points, three rebounds, five assists and one steal.

Auburn’s depth, which it hopes will be a strength for the team all season, played a role tonight as it had 53 bench points to Florida Atlantic’s 29.

Auburn takes on Vermont inside Neville Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT. The television broadcast can be found on SEC Network+.