Field Level Media
Feb 2, 2019
Auburn is on a roll as an unranked team.
The host Tigers routed Alabama 84-63 on Saturday night, their second consecutive lopsided victory since a three-game losing streak knocked them out of the Top 25 for the first time this season.
Bryce Brown scored 23 points, Jared Harper added 19 and Anfernee McLemore had 10 to lead Auburn (15-6, 4-4 Southeastern Conference), which began a three-game homestand with a 92-58 victory against Missouri on Wednesday in its first game as an unranked team.
The Tigers rank second in the SEC in scoring (84.2 points per game) and they looked like they would easily surpass that total as they raced to a 48-28 halftime lead.
The Tigers used runs of 11-2, 13-0 and 17-0 to pull away from the Crimson Tide (13-8, 4-4), who stayed competitive for a while but couldn't maintain the scoring pace.
John Petty Jr. came off the bench to score 18 points and Kira Lewis added 13 to lead the Tide, who began a stretch of three road games out of four by losing at Auburn for the fourth straight time.
Petty's three-point play gave Alabama the first points of the second half and the Crimson Tide slowly chipped away at the deficit.
They pulled within 54-43 on Riley Norris' 3-pointer with 13 minutes left, but Auburn scored the next seven points to rebuild a comfortable margin.
Alabama, which was coming off an 83-79 victory against No. 22 Mississippi State on Tuesday, jumped to a 7-1 lead that wasn't at all indicative of how the first half would go.
Auburn immediately responded with an 11-2 run to take a lead it would never relinquish.
Petty's basket got the Tide within one point, but the Tigers then scored 13 straight to take a 25-11 lead.
Lewis scored four points during a 9-0 run that got Alabama back in it and Dazon Ingram's 3-pointer pulled the Tide within 29-26.
But then Auburn went on its biggest run of the half. Five Tigers scored during a 17-0 run that gave them command.
Galin Smith's dunk ended the run, but Danjel Purifoy answered with two free throws that pushed Auburnās lead to 48-28 at the half.
--Field Level Media