Field Level Media
Feb 3, 2018
Eleventh-ranked Auburn won a 3-point shootout on Saturday night, beating Vanderbilt by 93-81 at Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala.
The Tigers hit a season-high 17 3-pointers on just 26 attempts (65.4 percent), with guards Bryce Brown (25 points), Mustapha Heron (23), Jared Harper (14) and forward Chuma Okeke (12) all hitting multiple treys.
Harper added 14 assists for the Tigers (21-2, 9-1 Southeastern Conference).
The Commodores, meanwhile, were 10 of 19 behind the arc (52.6 percent).
Vanderbilt forward Jeff Roberson scored a career-high 30, his fifth consecutive game with at least 20 points, and pulled 10 rebounds. Guards Riley LaChance and Max Evans added 13 apiece for Vanderbilt (8-15, 2-8), and guard Saben Lee scored 10.
Herron and Brown took turns carrying the Tigers in the second half. Herron scored 13 of Auburn's points at one stretch before yielding way to Brown, who scored 14 in a row immediately following.
And as soon as Brown stopped hitting, guard Malik Dunbar took his turn, burying back-to-back 3-points on opposite sides of the floor. The first put Auburn up 20 once again with 9:10 left.
Vanderbilt battled back, with Lee getting a steal and a slam dunk to bring the Commodores within nine with 5:22 left, but they never got closer.
Auburn led 45-35 after a first half of extremes.
The Commodores had seven turnovers and no offensive rebounds before they recorded their second field goal. By the time they hit that shot -- a 3-pointer by Evans -- Auburn led 18-8.
Meanwhile, the Tigers had it rolling on the other end. Harper banked in a deep 3-pointer to answer, then, after a Vanderbilt free throw, Heron sank a 3-pointer from the left side that beat the shot clock by fractions of a second.
The Tigers built the lead to 34-14 by the 6:56 mark on a Herron free throw, and Bryce Brown's step-back 3-pointer made the lead 22.
Vanderbilt roared back on a 15-2 run to cut the lead down to single digits, and eventually got within seven. However, Okeke buried a trey at the halftime buzzer just after picking up a loose ball.
Auburn was 8 of 14 on 3-point attempts in the first half.
--Field Level Media