Tip-Off Countdown: #43 (14) Auburn 85 Texas A&M 66

Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports

A stress-free Auburn Basketball game is really nice sometimes!

January 16, 2019 - College Station, Texas

The series between the two programs is just plain weird, not in just football but basketball as well. The road seems to always win, regardless of the sport. The narrative didn’t change when the Tigers went to Texas before their showdown with Kentucky.

A&M was coming in off a high after knocking off Alabama in their previous game.

Anfernee McLemore continued his torrid play coming off the bench and knocking down 3 3-pointers early in this one. The Aggies hung in for about 10 minutes and then the Tigers asserted their will.

A 9-0 run capped off by a 3 from Samir Doughty gave Auburn a 26-15 lead with 7:50 left in the first half. While Anfernee really got it going early, the story here was the shooting from Bryce Brown.

Bryce went bananas in the final 6 minutes of the half. With the score 28-20, Bryce’s personal run began with a 3-point play to go up 11. Bryce would connect from 3 the normal way 2 possessions later and hit another 3 moments later to stretch the Auburn lead to 37-23. A 3rd 3 from Brown would put Auburn ahead 40-23 at the Under 4 timeout. Bryce wasn’t done though.

Brown would hit 2 more 3s in the 1st half as part of his 20 point 1st half. He scored 18 straight points for Auburn and knocked down 5 3s in the 1st half.

Bryce Brown heat check: pic.twitter.com/En5SM5zQQo

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 17, 2019

Samir Doughty would finish the half with a basket in the closing seconds as Auburn led 48-32 at halftime.

A 7-0 start for the Aggies brought A&M within single digits but Anfernee would have none of it with a dunk and then Jared Harper knocked a 3 to push the lead back up to 14 just as quick as A&M had cut it to 9.

That’s the last time A&M trailed by less than 10.

Harper, who had just 2 points at halftime, would carry the load in the 2nd half that Brown had in the 1st. Back to back 3s with around 13 minutes to go in the game would push the Auburn lead over 20 for the first time, 65-44. The Tigers continue to lead comfortably coming down the stretch and Harper’s 4th 3 of the half gave Auburn a 78-58 lead with 5 minutes to go.

The Tigers would finish it off and would pick up their 1st true road win of the season in relatively stress-free fashion too.

Bryce Brown had 22 points to lead the way, 20 of them coming in the 1st half. Jared Harper had 15 of his 17 in the 2nd half, and dished out 6 assists and had 3 steals. Anfernee McLemore would finish with 13 points and 6 rebounds. Chuma Okeke had 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Here are the highlights!

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/10/18/21521262/tip-off-countdown-43-14-auburn-85-texas-a-m-66