PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Jabari Smith scored 22 points and No. 19 Auburn beat Syracuse 89-68 on Friday in the fifth-place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
K.D. Johnson added 15 points for the Tigers (5-1), who went 2-1 in the three-game tournament.
Auburn led by 10 at the half and increased the lead to 19 on a dunk by Johnson with 15:05 left. Syracuse used a 7-0 run to get within 64-54 with 8:10 remaining, but Smith ended the spurt with a 3-pointer from the wing and the Orange (3-3) got no closer than 11 the rest of the way.
Buddy Boeheim, Cole Swider and Jesse Edwards each scored 17 points for Syracuse.
Jimmy Boeheim, the younger of coach Jim Boeheim's two sons on the team who came into the game averaging 14.2 points, finished with three. His only basket came on a 3-pointer with 13:44 left in the second half.
Auburn trailed 25-24 with 7:20 left in the first half before scoring the next 11 points to go up 35-25. The Tigers held the Orange to one basket over the final 7:20 to go into the half up 43-33.
TIP-INS
The teams had only met one other time with Syracuse edging Auburn 79-78 in the 2003 NCAA Tournament. The Orange went on to win the title that season.
BIG PICTURE
Syracuse: The Orange opened the Battle 4 Atlantis by shooting 29% in Wednesday's 67-55 loss to VCU, but regrouped to beat Arizona State 92-84 in Thursday's consolation bracket.
Auburn: The Tigers opened their stay in The Bahamas by falling in a wild 115-109 double-overtime loss to No. 22 UConn on Wednesday, but they regrouped by beating Loyola Chicago 62-53 in the consolation bracket on Thursday.
UP NEXT
Syracuse: The Orange host Indiana on Tuesday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Auburn: The Tigers host UCF on Wednesday.
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