Doughty, Wiley lead No. 19 Auburn past Colgate, 91-62
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Auburn quickly left undersized and overmatched Colgate with no room for error.
The 19th-ranked Tigers started 5-for-5 from the field and 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in the opening four minutes, putting an early stamp on what became a 91-62 victory on Monday night.
Samir Doughty scored 20 points and Austin Wiley had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Auburn, which improved to 5-0 for the first time in 15 years. The Tigers used a 13-2 run to jump on their Patriot League foe early in the first half.
“That was a really good first half — really, really, special basketball,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. “We played fast, we shot it, we spread it, executed, got after them really hard and just suffocated them. We didn't give a good team a chance.”
Auburn shot 63% from the field, including 53% from 3-point territory, and outscored Colgate 28-16 in the paint in the first half. J’Von McCormick was the orchestrator, finishing with a team-high eight assists and 14 points, with only two turnovers, while Isaac Okoro and Danjel Purifoy scored 11 points apiece.
“We have a great team,” Doughty said. “It’s not just surrounded by me, Isaac or J’Von. Anybody can go off. We know that anybody is capable of coming out and playing great. Some nights I might be in single digits, and we still have five other players in double digits. It’s really a team effort all-around. It can be like this every single night.”
Colgate (1-3) struggled to get anything going against the Tigers’ overwhelming size and suffocating defense, shooting just 9-for-32 from the field and 1-for-11 from beyond the arc in the first half. The Raiders, who made the NCAA Tournament last season, did outscore the Tigers in the second half.
"If you let a team like Colgate with all that experience and their shot-makers hang around — look, they outplayed us in the second half," Pearl said. "We were still playing hard. We were still trying. We got outplayed. So, if we didn't come out with that kind of 20 minutes of effort and energy, shooting and how we were flying around, it could have been a different story."
Auburn had a 41-33 advantage in rebounding against the Patriot League’s preseason favorite and scored 15 points off fast breaks to finish the rout.
Jordan Burns had 18 points and Rapolas Ivanauskas added 12 for the Raiders.
BIG PICTURE
Colgate: The Raiders outscored Auburn 41-38, on 50% shooting from the field, in the second half and outrebounded a bigger, more physical squad 19-17 after halftime.
Auburn: Five players scored in double figures for the Tigers. Auburn is off to its best start since winning its first seven games in the 2003-04 season.
UP NEXT
Colgate will host SUNY-Cortland on Thursday.
Auburn looks to hand New Mexico its first loss of the season at the Legends Classic in Brooklyn, New York, on Nov. 25.
