Jaylin Williams had a season-high 20 points and Wendell Green Jr. recorded his 1,000th career point as No. 19 Auburn rallied for a 72-64 win over Georgia State in nonconference play on Wednesday night.
Williams was 8-of-11 shooting from the field, including 2 of 3 from the 3-point line. He also grabbed eight boards.
Green tallied 17 points and scored No. 1,000 from the free-throw line, which put Auburn up 57-48 with 7:01 to play in the second half. Green, who is in his second season at Auburn after playing one campaign for Eastern Kentucky, limped off with an ankle injury with less than a minute to play.
Johni Broome added 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocks for the Tigers (9-1), who played without K.D. Johnson (coaching decision).
Georgia State (5-5) was led on offense by Evan Johnson, who had a team-high 14 points. Dwon Odom added 13 points, five rebounds and five assists and Brenden Tucker scored 10 points for the Panthers.
Ja’Heim Hudson had eight points and 11 rebounds and Kalik Brooks also had eight points for Georgia State.
Auburn led 19-15 with less than seven minutes to go until halftime. But Georgia State’s defense and 3-point shooting kept the Panthers within striking distance.
Brooks cut Auburn’s lead to 23-22 with 4:33 to play in the first half when he nailed a trey from the corner. A turnover by Green led to a fast-break dunk, which tied the game at 24 with 3:03 to play.
Hudson gave the Panthers their first lead at 26-24 on a driving layup with 2:12 to play in the opening half. A Johnson 3-pointer and a put-back by Scott pushed Georgia State’s lead to 31-25 with 32 seconds to play.
A nifty layup and free throw by Green cut the Panthers lead to 31-28 at the half.
A 10-2 run, sparked by Williams and Green, helped the Tigers take a 42-38 lead with 13:02 remaining in the second half. Dylan Cardwell’s block led to a fast-break layup by Tre Donaldson, which put Auburn up 46-41 with 11:21 left.
A layup by Chris Moore and a 3-pointer by Donaldson pushed the Tigers led to 51-41 with a little over 10 to play in regulation. Broome’s dunk with 3:44 to go in the game gave the Tigers a 63-54 lead with 3:44 remaining.
Allen Flanigan’s fast-break dunk with 1:22 gave Auburn an insurmountable 69-61 lead.
–Field Level Media