Field Level Media
Nov 19, 2018
Bryce Brown and Jared Harper scored five points each in overtime as No. 8 Auburn fought off an upset bid from Xavier to prevail 88-79 in the opening game of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational on Monday.
The Tigers (4-0) will next face No. 1 Duke, and the Musketeers (2-2) will face San Diego State. Both games will be played Tuesday.
Brown scored a game-high 26 points, Harper had 25 and the Tigers outscored the Musketeers 11-2 in overtime. Chuma Okeke added 13 points and seven rebounds, and Austin Wiley came off the bench to score 11.
Ryan Welage came off the bench to lead Xavier with 17 points, Paul Scruggs scored 16, Quentin Goodin scored 13, Zach Hankins had 11 off the bench and Naji Marshall added 10.
Brown started the overtime scoring by making one of two free throws, and Harper added a dunk before Scruggs' jumper pulled the Musketeers within 80-79.
Okeke made one of two free throws, and Harper made a jumper to increase the lead to 83-79 with a minute left. Harper then made one free throw and Brown made two free throws and a dunk to complete the scoring.
Goodin started the second-half scoring with a three-point play that pulled the Musketeers within 33-31.
Okeke's layup started a 9-0 run, ended by his dunk, that pushed the Tigers lead to 42-31. Goodin had another three-point play, but Okeke's jumper gave Auburn a 50-41 lead.
Hankins made two free throws, and Keonte Kennedy hit a 3-pointer that got Xavier within 50-46.
The lead alternated between six and four points for the next five minutes before Auburn opened a seven-point lead. But Goodin and Welage each made a 3-pointer to get the Musketeers within 64-63.
Xavier got within one point three more times before Harper and Brown each made a 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 77-72 lead with 2:22 remaining.
The Musketeers went nearly two minutes without a field goal before Scruggs' 3-pointer and Tyrique Jones' two free throws with 27 seconds left tied the score at 75.
Brown missed a jumper with seven seconds left.
In the first half, the score was tied at 12 and 14 before Auburn took over with its 3-point shooting.
Okeke made a 3-pointer to put the Tigers ahead, 19-17, Brown made two 3-pointers as he scored eight consecutive Auburn points, and Brown later added two free throws to complete a 16-3 run.
Welage made a layup to cut the lead to 32-22. He added a jumper and a 3-pointer during an 8-1 run that cut the Tigers lead to 33-28 at halftime.
--Field Level Media