The Sports Xchange
Dec 23, 2017
Auburn's bench of Malik Dunbar, Davion Mitchell and Horace Spencer made sure the Tigers didn't miss a beat when they were on the court in an 89-64 rout of Connecticut on Saturday at Auburn, Ala.
The trio, along with Chuma Okeke, provided the spark the Tigers needed to earn the win.
Dunbar had 12 points, Mitchell scored 10 and Spencer added nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Tigers (11-1), who made 40.3 percent of their shots, including 35.3 percent (12 of 34) from 3-point range.
Okeke provided strength on the boards, pulling down eight rebounds as the Tigers outscored the Huskies 30-24 in the paint.
Auburn's bench outscored UConn's reserves 37-21.
Desean Murray and Mustapha Heron led Auburn with 13 points apiece. Jared Harper scored 11.
UConn (7-5), which shot only 34.3 percent from the field, was led by Jalen Adams' 14 points and seven rebounds. Terry Larrier had 12 points and Christian Vital 11.
Auburn never trailed and was not threatened after going on a 19-2 run to open a 26-9 lead with 11:12 left in the first half. The Tigers matched their biggest lead of 23 points in the first half on a 3-pointer by Harper with nine seconds left that gave them a 47-24 lead at halftime.
Auburn turned the ball over eight times.
UConn played its first two true road games of the season in a span of three days. The Huskies lost 73-58 on Thursday at Arizona.