AUBURN, Ala. – K.D. Johnson and Jaylin Williams both reached the 1,000-point milestone, and Auburn made it 50 straight non-conference home wins under head coach Bruce Pearl with an 82-62 victory over Alabama State on Friday night.
Johnson was first to hit 1,000 career points. Needing just five points coming in, the senior knocked down his second 3-pointer of the game late in the first half to go over 1,000. He finished with 13 points, his third game this season in double figures.
Williams came in 17 points away from 1,000, but the fifth-year senior led the Tigers with 20 points in Friday’s win. He hit the 1,000 mark in the second half with a left-handed lay-up in transition, and then nearly brought the house down with a one-handed alley-oop dunk from Tre Donaldson the next time down the court.
“Congratulations to Jaylin Williams,” Pearl said. “What a great game he had on both ends of the floor. He has been tremendously consistent over the last couple weeks. It was also great to see K.D. – that ball going in for him. I thought K.D. brought great energy into his rotation at the start of the first half where it really kind of ignited our defense.”
Johni Broome also scored in double figures for the Tigers, finishing with 16 points while pulling down a team-best 13 rebounds. It was the sixth double-double of the season for Broome and the 51st of his career. He added three blocks and a season-high three steals.
After a slow start in the early going, Auburn found its groove midway through the first half. The Tigers went on a 12-3 run capped by another alley-oop dunk from Williams. The lob on this one came from Aden Holloway whose 3-pointer a couple possessions later was the sixth straight make by Auburn at the time.
Later in the first half, Tre Donaldson made a 3-pointer with a foot on the midcourt logo. As a team, the Tigers shot 57 percent for the half and took a 46-25 lead into the intermission.
Defensively, Auburn held Alabama State to 39.3 percent shooting from the floor and 22.2 percent from long range. It’s the sixth time this season the Tigers have held an opponent to under 40 percent shooting from the floor. They also matched their season high with 11 steals.
Auburn (10-2) will be back in Neville Arena on Saturday, Dec. 30 to host Chattanooga. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. CT and will be televised on SEC Network.
