Williams, Green lead No. 19 Auburn past Georgia State, 72-64

Updated Dec. 14, 2022 10:30 p.m. ET

Associated Press

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Jaylin Williams scored 20 points, Wendell Green Jr. had 17 and No. 19 Auburn beat Georgia State 72-64 Wednesday night.

The Tigers (9-1) rebounded from their first loss, 82-73 against Memphis, with a hot-shooting second half after struggling for the first 23 minutes.

Auburn hit 18 of 27 shots (66.7%) in the half but struggled to shake the Panthers (5-5), who actually led by six a few minutes after coming back from the locker room.

Williams made 8 of 11 shots, including both 3-point attempts, and had eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Green did much of his damage from the free throw line, where he was 11 of 15, and passed the 1,000-point mark for his career.

Johni Broome scored 13 for the Tigers.

Evan Johnson led Georgia State with 14 points. Dwon Odom had 13 but made just 4 of 16 shots. Brenden Tucker added 10 despite picking up his fourth foul with 17:35 left.

Auburn finally created some breathing room with nine straight points midway through. Tre Donaldson scored on a drive and a 3-pointer that just beat the shot clock for a 51-41 lead that stood as Auburn's biggest of the game.

The Panthers led 31-28 at halftime when the Tigers scoring almost half their points (13) from the free throw line.

Auburn guard K.D. Johnson was held out of the game for what coach Bruce Pearl termed “a coach's decision” on the pre-game radio show. Johnson, who's averaging 10.9 points as the team's top reserve, didn't dress.

BIG PICTURE

Georgia State: First-year coach Jonas Hayes couldn't keep his Southeastern Conference string alive. As interim coach, he led Xavier to three wins against SEC teams en route to the NIT title. It was his team's first game since a Dec. 4 loss to Northeastern.

Auburn: Shot just 7 of 22 from the floor (31.8%) in the first half before finally heating up. And they got outrebounded 35-26.

UP NEXT

Georgia State hosts Rhode Island on Sunday.

Auburn visits USC on Sunday to start a two-game West Coast swing that also includes Washington.

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