Hot shooting leads No. 15 Auburn past Colgate

Behind K.D. Johnson and Johni Broome, No. 15 Auburn cruised to a 93-66 win over visiting Colgate in a nonconference game on Friday.

Johnson scored 13 of his team-high 16 points in the first half for the Tigers (8-0). Broome added 13 points, nine rebounds and a game-high four steals.

Auburn’s Allen Flanigan started in place of Jaylin Williams, who did not play due to an undisclosed reason, and tallied 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Wendell Green Jr. chipped in 13 points and four assists.

Chris Moore (eight points, three boards) and Yohan Traore (eight points, five rebounds) provided solid play in the post for the Tigers.

Braeden Smith produced a game-high 17 points plus seven rebounds for the Raiders (5-5), who lost for the third time in four games. Colgate’s Keegan Records recorded 13 points and six rebounds, and Oliver Lynch-Daniels added 11 points and three rebounds.

Auburn’s defense limited Tucker Richardson, Colgate’s leading scorer, to nine points on 3-of-14 shooting from the field.

The Tigers shot 56.3 percent from the field (18 of 32) in the first half, including 58.3 percent from the 3-point arc (7 of 12). Auburn made a season-high 10 3-pointers and finished the game shooting 55.2 percent (37 of 67) from the field.

Flanigan scored seven consecutive Auburn points to give the hosts a 11-5 lead after five minutes.

A slam by Traore upped the Tigers’ lead to 18-11 before a 20-9 run, sparked by red-hot 3-point shooting by Johnson, pushed Auburn’s edge to 18 points with 4:53 to play in the half.

Colgate closed the opening half on 13-9 run and trailed 47-33 at the break.

The Raiders came out hot in the second half, but 3-pointers by Flanigan and Johnson increased Auburn’s lead to 66-46 with 13:18 to go. A nifty pass from Johnson to Dylan Cardwell led to a monster slam and an insurmountable 70-48 lead with a little over 11 minutes to play.

–Field Level Media