LEXINGTON, Ky. — Miles Kelly scored a game-high 23 points to lead Auburn, the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, to an 83-63 victory over No. 16 seed Alabama State on Thursday in a first-round South Region game.
Kelly finished 7 of 15 from 3-point range while player of the year candidate Johni Broome overcame a slow start to finish with 14 points and 11 rebounds as the Tigers pulled away in the second half. Tahaad Pettiford finished with 16 points for Auburn.
Auburn (29-5) advances to the second round against No. 9 Creighton, which earned an 89-75 victory over Louisville.
“They were a formidable opponent. We didn’t play our best, but I think they had a lot to do with it. So I just give them a great deal of credit,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “Miles was terrific. Tahaad was terrific at times. Johni dominated on the inside when he had to, but trust me we can play — and we’ll need to play — a lot better.”
Auburn won despite a sluggish first half and an 18-of-32 showing from the free-throw line. The Tigers entered the tournament losing three of their last four but still managed to be the top overall seed.
“We missed 14 free throws, we made 18, and that’s going to catch us in a close game,” Pearl said. “These next games have a chance to be closer, so we’ve got to sharpen up in that area. …
“That’s the biggest difference right now between the way we were playing earlier in the season and the way we’re playing right now. You can do that against a team that you’re better than, but … we won’t be able to do that from this point forward.”
Amarr Knox had 18 for Alabama State (20-16), while TJ Madlock added 11 points and CJ Hines chipped in with nine. Knox hit the buzzer-beating layup against Saint Francis in the First Four to get the Hornets into the first round.
Kelly got the Tigers off to a fast start by hitting his first four 3-point attempts as Auburn took an 18-8 lead less than eight minutes into the game.
Alabama State wouldn’t go quietly in the first half. Following a Broome turnover in the lane, the Hornets missed back-to-back 3-point attempts. But they grabbed the offensive rebound each time, including on Ubong Okon’s putback to cap a 9-0 run and draw Alabama State within 28-24 with 5:31 left in the first half.
Pearl showed his frustration and called an immediate timeout.
“What a great run, man. I’m so proud of these guys and everything that they stand for,” Alabama State head coach Tony Madlock said. “Just so proud and happy for what we’ve done for the city of Montgomery, for Alabama State University, for all the HBCUs to get to the dance, win a game.
“Then had some moments in this game where we made Coach Pearl call timeout. So we had a couple chances there early.”
With Auburn missing nine straight shots, the Hornets had a chance to take the lead late in the first half, but Knox was short with a pair of free throws with 1:27 remaining. Auburn responded by scoring the final nine points to take a 41-31 halftime lead.
After the Hornets drew to within eight in the opening 30 seconds of the second half, Auburn answered with an 13-3 run, featuring a four-point play from Pettiford and a 3-pointer from Denver Jones to open the lead to 54-36.
Auburn had a 71-51 advantage with 5:21 remaining and never saw its lead drop under 20 points the rest of the way.
–Mike Petraglia, Field Level Media
