AUBURN, Ala. - Fifteenth-ranked Auburn used a torrid first-half shooting percentage to take a 47-33 halftime lead and never looked back as the Tigers went on to defeat Colgate 93-66.

The Tigers hit nine of their first 12 shots to open the game shooting 58.3% overall in the first half and hitting seven of 12 three-point shots. Five different Tigers nailed trifectas in the half. K.D. Johnson led the way with 13 points on four of six shooting including a perfect 3-3 from long-range leading 8-0 Auburn to its highest scoring half of the season.

For the Raiders, Tucker Richardson, Keegan Records, and Braeden Smith each had eight first-half points, but Colgate was hurt by turnovers, committing six in the half resulting in seven Auburn points. The Auburn bench also contributed heavily, outscoring the Raider reserves 23-5 in the stanza.

In the second half, the Tigers ran their lead to 66-46 with 13:18 left after consecutive three-point shots. The teams traded baskets until an Auburn dunk led to a 70-48 Tiger lead causing a Colgate timeout with 11:17 to play. Auburn increased the lead to 25 as the Raiders went cold, not scoring for 3:29 before a Ryan Moffatt three cut the lead to 22.

A Raider free throw dropped the advantage to 21 but the margin went back to 25 on two hoops by Johni Broome and a few minutes later extended to 27 on a Chris Moore layup. Smith answered with a three for Colgate heading into the 4:00 media timeout. Six consecutive points down the stretch ran the lead to 30 for Auburn before Nicolas Louis-Jacques hit a three to end the scoring.

Smith led all scorers in the game with 17 points and contributed a team-high seven rebounds, an assist, and two steals. Records finished with 13 points and six boards, while Oliver Lynch-Daniels added 11 points.

FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Matt Langel

"Auburn is a talented team. They play extremely hard and balance great size with length, athleticism, and physical force. They have won a few close games this season without having shot well. When they add 50% three-point shooting like they had tonight, with their fan base behind them, they are an extremely tough matchup for us. 

"As we move into the last week of class and exam week, a challenging academic period at Colgate, we need to keep working to be the best version of ourselves.

"Our defensive execution and connectivity are going to have to improve.  We can't keep finding ourselves facing season-best team and individual performances. At some point, we will need to limit the opposition's efficiency to find the results we want."
UP NEXT
Colgate (5-5, 0-0 PL) plays at Binghamton on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. 
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