AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) - Many questioned the validity of Steven Pearl’s squad this week after the team narrowly took down Bethune-Cookman, in overtime in the Tigers’ season opener. Pearl and the team seemingly took notice and adjusted, responding in a big way with a blowout victory over Merrimack on Thursday evening.
On Thursday, the Tigers stomped the Merrimack Warriors, 95-57, the largest win of Steven Pearl’s tenure thus far. Merrimack scored first, but the minute and nine seconds that followed were the only time in the game’s 40-minute runtime that Auburn was behind, a stark contrast from Tuesday’s matchup.
The Tigers shot 31-62, or 50%, from the field, as well as 6-24 from beyond the stripe. Conversely, the Warriors shot 16-56, or 28%, from the field, though they also shot 25% from three. The defense that looked shaky at times on Monday was vastly improved, forcing Merrimack to consistently settle for tough and contested looks that the Warriors struggled to convert.
Auburn did a much better job using their talent advantage against Merrimack than in the season opener, especially down low. The Tigers’ big men dominated the boards and in this game, accumulating 55 rebounds to Merrimack’s 24 and scoring 42 paint points to Merrimack’s 14.
Keyshawn Hall had yet another stellar performance in his first year with the Tigers, filling the stat sheet with 25 points and 14 rebounds. The UNLV transfer continued the trend of getting to the charity stripe, too, making 12 of his 13 free throw opportunities on his way to a second consecutive game as Auburn's leading scorer.
Sebastian Williams-Adams and Emeka Opurum also had impressive showings for the Tigers, scoring 11 points each while playing tight defense. Both also had multiple blocks and a plethora of rebounds, each stats that heavily favored Auburn in the box score after 40 minutes.
Auburn had a bit of a slow start, putting up 39 points in the first half. Despite that, the Tigers came out swinging in the second half, scoring 56 points in the final 20 minutes to cements the blowout. The Tigers’ depth was also on display Thursday evening, as Auburn's bench put up an impressive 28 points.
Up next for the No. 20 Tigers is a Tuesday night matchup against Wofford in which they’ll look to continue their forward momentum against the Terriers, who are a solid team from the SOCON. The game will be played at 7:00 p.m. CDT and broadcast on ESPN.
