Auburn got off to a slow start against the rival Bulldogs. Fittingly, it was Anfernee McLemore coming off the bench who provided a key spark in Auburn Arena with his dunk early in the first half. Auburn's bench played arguably their best game of the season while scoring 34 points. McLemore and Allen Flanigan both scored 12 points apiece off the bench. Samir Doughty was the third Tiger to finish with double figures in scoring with 17. Auburn finished the game shooting lights out with a 53.2% (33/62) mark from the field, while their defense held Georgia to 38% (19/50) shooting for the game. After poor rebounding contributed to the Tigers slow start, Auburn reversed that trend out rebounding the Dawgs 41-33 for the game. Anthony Edwards managed to score a game high 18 points for Georgia, but was held in check during the first half. At the break, Georgia's leading scorer only had 3 points. Much of Edwards struggles can be attributed to the defensive play of Flanigan and Isaac Okoro. After seeming to have improved their free throw shooting as of late, Auburn reverted to their early season struggles finishing the game at 46.7% (7/16). Luckily for Auburn, the raucous home crowd seemed to affect the Bulldogs free throw shooting as they finished at 51.5% (17/33). The win over Georgia keeps Auburn undefeated on the year with a 15-0 record (3-0 SEC). The Tigers are next in action on the court Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Tuscaloosa to face rival Alabama. Below is a summary of the action throughout the game.
15:29 1st Half Georgia 10 Auburn 5
As has often been the case of late, Auburn is off to a slow start offensively. Georgia has dominated the boards in the first four and a half minutes, outrebounding the Tigers 8-2. Isaac Okoro and Samir Doughty have the two made field goals for Auburn.
11:19 1st Half Georgia 14 Auburn 11
Auburn Arena is rocking entering the twelve-and-under media timeout. Anfernee McLemore’s dunk seemed to wake up both the Auburn crowd and team. Georgia now has a slight 10-8 edge on the boards, a marked improvement for the Tigers in the last four plus minutes.
7:51 1st Half Auburn 18 Georgia 16
Auburn’s defensive intensity has picked up, as the Tigers have gone on a 12-2 in the last 4:26 to take a two point lead. Samir Doughty leads Auburn with 5 points.
3:48 1st Half Auburn 26 Georgia 20
Once again, we enter a media timeout with Auburn Arena rocking over an Auburn defensive play. Auburn just forced the Dawgs into their 6th turnover of the first half. Allen Flanigan has provided the Tigers with a spark off the bench scoring 5 points.
2:29 1st Half Auburn 31 Georgia 20
Samir Doughty’s calm stepback three just forced Georgia into a timeout. The three is part of an 8-0 run for the Tigers.
Halftime Auburn 35 Georgia 24
After two called fouls on Auburn that upset the home crowd, Georgia ended the half on a 4-0 run to trim a deficit of 15 to 11. Auburn’s defensive intensity seemed to rattle Georgia for much of the last 10 minutes of the first half. Auburn shot 48% (13/27) compared to Georgia’s 32% (8/25). Auburn made 6/14 three’s compared to Georgia’s 2/7. One of the few negatives for the Tigers in the first half was their free throw shooting. Auburn only made 50% (3/6) of their free throws. Georgia converted 6/10 free throws. Allen Flanigan was one of the brightest spots of the first half for the Tigers. The freshman came off the bench to score 9 points on 4/4 shooting. Flanigan was also tasked with guarding Anthony Edwards, Georgia’s top scorer, for the majority of his time on the court. Edwards was limited to 3 points on 1/5 shooting in the first half. Samir Doughty led the Tigers with 10 points in the first half. Auburn’s bench outscored Georgia’s 14-4 in the half.
16:29 2nd Half Auburn 46 Georgia 27
Auburn opened the second half with a 11-3 run to build their largest lead of the game. This run prompted the Dawgs to call a timeout. Samir Doughty scored 5 of Auburn’s 11 points in the opening three and a half minutes of the second half. Doughty now has 15 points for the game.
11:45 2nd Half Auburn 54 Georgia 37
Georgia continues to struggle from the free throw line. The Dawgs have gotten there 21 times, but only made 10 of their shots. Samir Doughty continues to lead the Tigers with 17 points.
5:59 2nd Half Auburn 69 Georgia 47
Auburn has turned this game into a dunk contest. Anfernee McLemore has lived around the rim in the last few minutes. McLemore now has scored 12 points off the bench. On the other side of the court, Georgia’s star freshman Anthony Edwards has started to heat up. Edwards now has 14 points.
3:17 2nd Half Auburn 75 Georgia 51
Auburn leads by 24 at the four-and-under media timeout in the second half. Both teams have continued to struggle from the free throw line. Auburn has made 7/15 shots, while Georgia has made 12/27 free throws. Coming out of the timeout Auburn began to bring in the young backups to get some playing time.
Final Auburn 82 Georgia 60
Auburn finishes of the Dawgs with both teams emptying out the benches. Auburn moves on to play Alabama.
Solutions by The State News
