Auburn basketball overcomes shooting woes, closes out Texas A&M for eighth straight win
AUBURN — Auburn basketball center Johni Broome came into his team's bout with Texas A&M posting 15.6 points per game. Aggies star guard Wade Taylor IV entered averaging an even 18.
Both were scoreless at halftime as the two sides engaged in defensive duel early on in Neville Arena on Tuesday. Some quality production from Jaylin Williams made the difference for the Tigers, though, who beat Texas A&M, 66-55. Auburn had lost three straight against Buzz Williams' squad.
Williams, who threw down a vicious fast-break slam about midway through the first half, finished with a game-high 22 points on 80% shooting. He was joined in double figures by KD Johnson (14) and Broome (10).
The Tigers have now won eight straight games, with the average margin of victory in those contests being by more than 20 points.
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Rebounding favors Texas A&M early vs. Auburn basketball
The Aggies aren't the most efficient bunch, but they have an advantage over most teams when it comes to cleaning the glass. They came in with an offensive rebounding percentage of 44.8%, which led the country, and averaged 17.5 second-chance points, which is No. 2 nationally.
Texas A&M started the game winning the rebounding battle 15-5. It was a much more even affair as the game wore on, but the Aggies still grabbed 19 offensive boards. The difference was that it only led to 10 second-chance points.
Assist after assist
Auburn made 20 shots. The Tigers had 18 assists.
The Aggies ran some half-court pressure in the first half that disrupted Auburn − the Tigers often took their possessions deep into the shot clock − but the offense still found ways to operate.
Second-half scare
Texas A&M trailed by eight points at halftime, but the Aggies came out of the break by forcing six Auburn turnovers in the first 10 minutes and taking the lead with more than 12 minutes remaining. The Tigers took back the lead shortly thereafter, but their advantage was never more than six points until Williams hit a clutch 3-pointer to ice the game with under a minute remaining.
Auburn only made five of its 22 shots from beyond the arc, but it was enough.
What's next
The Tigers will stay home for their third SEC test of the season, welcoming LSU to Neville Arena on Saturday (5 p.m. CT, SEC Network).
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball outlasts Texas A&M in Neville Arena for SEC victory
