Jones hits 7 3s, No. 13 Auburn beats Georgia 92-78 to earn SEC double bye
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Denver Jones scored a season-high 21 points, making 7 of 9 3-pointers, and No. 13 Auburn closed the regular season with a 92-78 victory over Georgia on Saturday night.
The Tigers (24-7, 13-5 Southeastern Conference) secured the No. 4 seed and a double bye in next week's SEC Tournament with their third straight victory, making a potentially less grueling path in Nashville, Tennessee.
“It takes three games to win the championship," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "We've won three games in a row several times this year. Obviously we know the competition in this league is incredible.”
The Tigers already had a double-digit lead over the Bulldogs (16-15, 6-12) much of the way. Then Jones hit three straight 3s in a two-minute span to help Auburn build a 60-39 cushion.
“I feel like it’s about time for everybody to start getting hot," Jones said. “Right here in March, it’s about the right time where everybody starts playing with more confidence and starts taking the open shots and starts knocking them down.”
Georgia cut it to 12 points in the final 9 minutes but then Jones hit No. 7 and Jaylin Williams followed that with a 3-pointer of his own.
“It could have gotten ugly and it has gotten ugly in this building against other teams,” Georgia coach Mike White said. “They’re really good. Auburn’s terrific. They executed at a really high level. Really passed it well. They’ve just got balanced scoring. They’ve got depth, skill level.”
The Tigers came into the game tied for second in the SEC with South Carolina, Alabama and Kentucky — all of whom won their games. Auburn won the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Gamecocks.
Johni Broome had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for Auburn. Williams scored 13. Both were likely playing their final home game. Dylan Cardwell added 10 points.
Jones continued a recent hot shooting streak.
“It makes us more dangerous, and a better coach would have gotten him 14 shots instead of just nine,” Pearl said. “For real. That’s on me.”
Silas Demary Jr. led Georgia with 15 points and made all three attempts on 3s. Russel Tchewa added 14 points and 10 rebounds while Noah Thomasson scored. 12.
Auburn pushed its lead to 14 points six times in the first half, the last coming on Williams' fast-break dunk at the buzzer. He slammed it home after a bounce pass from Chad Baker-Mazara following a missed Georgia free throw with 4 seconds left.
It was the team's 17th assist among 19 first-half baskets, and the Tigers finished with 29. That was the most in Pearl's 10-season tenure.
BIG PICTURE
Georgia: Started freshmen Blue Cain, Demary and Dylan James for the second straight game. Made 7 of 22 3-pointers and 17 of 30 free throw attempts.
Auburn: Swept Georgia for the fourth time since 2018. Before that stretch, the Tigers hadn't swept a home-and-home series with the Bulldogs since 1986. ... Had assists on 10 of its first 11 baskets, from 10 different players.
WILLIAMS' FINALE
It was the home finale for Williams, one of only three fifth-year seniors in the SEC who played all four years at the same school. Williams is the winningest player in program history with 110.
UP NEXT
Both teams head to Nashville, Tennessee, for the SEC Tournament.
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