Auburn Tigers Take Down Furman in Exhibition Win

Despite the slow start, the Tigers throttle their first exhibition opponent of the 2024-25 campaign

The Auburn Tigers recover from a slow start to dominate Furman in their exhibition game / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

A dominant outing from Johni Broome and a strong display of their depth led the Auburn Tigers to an 83-62 win over the Furman Paladins in their first exhibition game.

Broome had a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds in the game. He led Auburn in points and was the game’s second-highest scorer with 18 points - Furman’s Nick Anderson had 19 – and 50 of Auburn’s points came from the bench.

Another contributing factor to Auburn’s success was the way it controlled the turnover battle. Furman turned over the ball at twice the rate of Auburn. The Tigers turned the ball over nine times which led to seven points for the Paladins. Furman turned the ball over 18 times which led to 24 points for Auburn.

“We made sure, when we came in here, to pressure them," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "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 had a slow start in the first half, going just 10 for 36 from the field. Pearl was satified with the effort put in, but the results can be better.

"When we look back at the tape, we will like where we got the ball," Pearl said. "We just didn’t finish or execute. I thought our energy was okay and I hope that we can build it up a bit."

By the end of the game, the Tigers shot 43% from the field, 18% from 3-point range and 76% from the free-throw line. Along with Broome’s 14 rebounds while Denver Jones and Tahaad Pettiford co-led Auburn in assists with three each. Five Tigers scored double figures. 

Furman shot 36% from the field, 24% from 3-point range and 71% from the free-throw line. Ben VanderWal led the Paladins in rebounds with six and Garett Hein led them in assists with three. Furman has three players score in double-figures.

A significant rebounding advantage was another difference-maker for the Tigers. Auburn out-rebounded Furman 48-31 total, 20-9 on the offensive side and 28-22 on the defensive side. This led to a 19-7 difference in second-chance points in Auburn’s favor.

Both of Auburn’s freshmen made their presence noticed, each coming in off the bench. In 23 minutes on the floor, Jahki Howard had 10 points, a rebound, two assists, a block and two steals. In 24 minutes of action, Pettiford recorded 13 points, two rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Auburn takes on FAU at home in Neville Arena for its second exhibition on Friday before they get into regular season play.