Auburn Tigers Cruise Past Kent State For Another Dominant Win

Apart from a brief scare to start the second half, Auburn had little trouble handling the Golden Flashes

Auburn took down Kent State to improve to 3-0 / Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The No. 5 Auburn Tigers (3-0) decisively took down Kent State (2-1) 79-56. While it was a dominant win, it could have gone a bit smoother. 

The Tigers went up 10-0 in less than four minutes into the game and were up 36-22 by halftime. 

Kent State managed to scare the Tigers at the start of the second half, going on a 14-4 run and cutting Auburn’s lead down to four. However, an 8-0 run put the Tigers back in the driver’s seat for the rest of the game. 

Chad Baker-Mazara, Johni Broome and Chaney Johnson all scored in double-figures in the winning effort. Broome finished the game with a double-double - 18 points and 12 rebounds.  

“It goes back to us being unselfish and believing in our teammates,” said Broome, whose first double-double of the season was his 25th at Auburn. “We took what the defense gave us and were able to make inside-out plays.”

In Auburn’s first three games, Johnson is shooting 68 percent (18 for 25) after going 8-for-11 against the Golden Flashes, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range.   

“My teammates are trusting me, Coach Pearl is getting me the ball in the right spots and I’m just making shots,” Johnson said. “I did come in with a bigger chip on my shoulder because I knew I was going to have to take the spot that J-Will (Jaylin Williams) filled so well. Trusting in my work and playing with more confidence.”

The Tigers were co-led in scoring by Broome and Johnson with 18 points each, led in rebounds by Broome with 12, and co-led in assists by Broome and Tahaad Pettiford with four each.

Auburn was without Jahki Howard and Ja’Heim Hudson again. This was related to the incident between the two players that resulted in the team’s flight being returned to Auburn when traveling to Houston on Friday. Both players have been practicing with the team since the incident, but it’s to be determined when they’ll get to play again. 

“Chaney’s our hardest worker,” Pearl said. “He’s in the gym all the time. He likes to work out. (Assistant coach) Ira Bowman is in the gym with him every day. He doesn’t know any other way. His confidence is up and his teammates believe in him.”

Auburn shot 49% from the field. They shot 25% from 3-point range - the worst performance from beyond the arc so far this season. The Tigers shot 77% from the free-throw line. 

Kent State shot 33% from the field, 24% from 3-point range and 73% from the free-throw line. The Golden Flashes were led in scoring by VonCameron Davis with 19 points, in rebounds by Cli’ron Hornbeak with seven and in assists by Cian Medley with two.

Postgame Notes:

• For the first time this season, Auburn went with the starting five of Denver Jones, Miles Kelly, Chad Baker-Mazara, Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell. It was Kelly’s first career start in an Auburn uniform.

• All nine players who played in the game for Auburn scored at least two points.

• Chaney Johnson registered his third-straight game in double figures to open the season with an Auburn career-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor and 2-of-3 from long range, which matches his double-figure games from all of last season, to go with five rebounds, four assists and two blocks against the Golden Flashes. Johnson moved past the 1,400-point mark for his career in the win as he ended the game with 1,403 points.

• Johni Broome recorded his 61st career double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds versus Kent State. He went 8-of-12 on field goals, while also adding four assists and three blocks on the night. Broome has blocked 10 shots in the first three games of the season including eight in the last two games.

• Denver Jones recorded his second game in double figures on the season with 12 points including a pair of 3-pointers and a 4-of-4 effort from the free-throw line against Kent State. He added three rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal in the win. Jones ended the night with 1,303 career points to date.

• Chad Baker-Mazara chipped in 12 points including 6-of-8 from the free-throw line. He also finished with two rebounds, two steals and one assist against the Golden Flashes.

• Auburn registered a season-high 23 assists on 28 made baskets against Kent State. The Tigers’ previous season high was 15 assists against Vermont. Eight players recorded an assist for Auburn in the win.

• AU committed a season-low six turnovers, besting the Tigers’ nine turnovers against Vermont.

• The Tigers scored a season-high 42 points in the paint after scoring 36 points in the paint in each of the first two games of the season.

• Auburn held Kent State to 32.8 percent shooting including 5-of-21 (23.8 percent) from 3-point range. The Tigers have held their first three opponents to 26.3 percent shooting from long range.

• AU has started the season 3-0 for the sixth time in the last nine seasons. Prior to that, the Tigers had one such start in the previous nine seasons combined.

• The win marked Bruce Pearl’s 203rd career victory as Auburn’s head coach putting him 10 wins behind Joel Eaves, who won 213 games in 14 seasons at Auburn, for the most head coaching victories in program history.

• The win also marked Auburn’s 56th-consecutive non-conference home win.

• The Tigers played in front of their 57th-consecutive sellout crowd at Neville Arena (9,121).

Auburn returns to action on Monday when it hosts the North Alabama Lions at Neville Arena. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT and SEC Network will carry the television broadcast.