AUBURN, Ala. – Tuning up for SEC play with an offensive outburst, Auburn routed Queens 106-65 Monday at Neville Arena in the Tigers’ nonconference finale.
Elyjah Freeman led Auburn with 27 points off the bench, making all four of his 3-point attempts. Kevin Overton made 5 of 7 3-pointers and scored 23, Keyshawn Hall added 18 points and Sebastian Williams-Adams chipped in 10.
Auburn exploded for 57 first-half points, its highest output of the season, with Hall leading the way with 16 points before intermission.
KeShawn Murphy won the opening tip and made a 3-pointer on the game’s first possession, setting the tone for how “Nightmode at Neville” would go.
Tahaad Pettiford made a steal and passed to Overton, who drew a foul while making a 3-pointer, adding the free throw to give Auburn an early 10-point lead. Hall followed with a stepback 3 and the Tigers led by double digits for the game’s last 36 minutes and 19 seconds.
Hall scored eight points during a 15-0 Auburn run to put the Tigers on top 30-4 with 12:06 to play in the first half.
Pettiford equaled his career high with six assists on Overton’s fourth 3-pointer of the half.
Leading by 36 at the half, the Tigers and Royals traded baskets throughout the second half.
After Pettiford hit a 3-pointer, Filip Jovic grabbed an offensive rebound and passed to Pettiford, who fed Freeman for a dunk to extend his career high to nine assists.
The Tigers held Queens without a 3-pointer until the 7:30 mark of the second half and limited the Royals to 2-for-15 shooting from long range.
The Tigers made 15 of 28 3-pointers, a 53.6-percent clip.
Overton led Auburn with four steals. Murphy and Williams-Adams each blocked three shots.
Auburn heads to Athens to play No. 24 Georgia in the SEC opener Saturday at noon CT on SEC Network and the Auburn Sports Network.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer