No. 11 Auburn’s fast start proves enough vs. MS State

AUBURN, Ala. – No. 11 Auburn started fast and never trailed, getting a combined 32 points from Johni Broome and Denver Jones to defeat Mississippi State 78-63 Saturday at sold-out Neville Arena.

“A good win against a good team. Mississippi State, it’s like a second-round NCAA Tournament game,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “We played well early, shot it well early. Great balance from Auburn. Our strength is our 11.

“Great crowd tonight. Our Auburn family showed up. I think they like this team and I hope we get a great crowd in here for our last game, Senior Night against Georgia.”

Broome led the Tigers with 17 points and six rebounds. Jones made three of Auburn’s nine 3-pointers and scored 15 points.

“Coach always says this is the time to get hot, it’s time to make a run,” Broome said. “We don’t want to lose any more games.”

Chad Baker-Mazara and Jaylin Williams each added 10 points, with Williams going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in his 135th Auburn game, most in program history.

“It was good, especially at the Tennessee game, to be out there with my brothers and play with them again,” said Williams, making his first start after missing one game and coming off the bench this week at Tennessee after a knee injury two weeks ago against Kentucky. “Being back at home and starting, the ovation was amazing. Everyone was happy for me to play again.”

Leading by 17 at halftime, Auburn saw the Bulldogs heat up and pull within seven before Jones and Lior Berman made 3-pointers in an 8-0 Auburn run that put the Tigers on top 58-43.

“It was a classic case of playing uphill all night long,” Mississippi State coach Chris Jans said. “They stretched it out to double figures. They did an excellent job. They took the fight to us to start the game. They were more physical than us. Kudos to Coach Pearl, his staff and their players.”

Chaney Johnson ended the first half with his second 3-pointer to give Auburn a 39-22 halftime lead.

“I thought Chaney Johnson was huge in the first half. Chaney can do a lot of things y’all haven’t seen yet. He’s got a lot of tricks in his bag,” Pearl said. “I thought Denver Jones was terrific tonight. He guarded and made plays.”

The Tigers made 54 percent of their shots in the half while holding State to 27.6 percent.

“Defense wins championships,” Broome said. “We knew it was going to be a challenge on the defensive end, and we stepped up.”

Jones’ corner 3-pointer in transition from Tre Donaldson, one of Donaldson’s game-high six assists with no turnovers, gave Auburn an early double-digit lead.

“I like Tre out there playing with freedom, confidence and accountability,” Pearl said. “Both point guards did a good job taking care of the ball.”

K.D. Johnson’s corner 3 from Baker-Mazara extended the Tigers’ advantage to 15 points, and Donaldson’s jumper from the free-throw line pushed the lead to 19 with 3:57 to play in the half.

Josh Hubbard made 6 of 11 3-pointers and scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half for Mississippi State (19-10, 8-8).

Auburn (22-7, 11-5) plays its final regular season road game Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT at Missouri on SEC Network and the Auburn Sports Network.

“It’s March and it’s time to make shots, not take shots,” Pearl said. “The guys have been putting in the work and that’s what it takes to win.”

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