Denver Jones scored a game-high 21 points as No. 1 Auburn pulled away for an 80-68 win over Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference matchup on Tuesday night in Nashville, Tenn.
Chaney Johnson racked up 20 points off the bench on 9-of-10 shooting, and Johni Broome scored 17 points, 15 in the second half, for Auburn (22-2, 10-1 SEC). Broome added seven rebounds and three blocks.
Jason Edwards led the Commodores with 13 points. A.J. Hoggard and Devin McGlockton chipped in 10 each for Vanderbilt (17-7, 5-6). McGlockton also had 13 rebounds and two blocks.
Shortly after Vanderbilt took its first lead of the game early in the second half, the Commodores led 49-48 on a jumper by Chris Manon. Johnson responded with nine straight points. He started with a 3-pointer, and three consecutive buckets in the paint put Auburn up by eight with 11:38 left in the game.
Moments later, MJ Collins up-and-under reverse layup cut Auburn’s lead to 57-51.
With the Tigers still ahead by six, Tahaad Pettiford was fouled as he hit a trey and converted the free throw for the first double-digit lead of the game at 63-53.
Pettiford wrapped a pass around a defender to Broome for a two-hand dunk as Auburn went up 71-59 with 5:27 left.
Auburn exploded out of the gate with a 15-0 run. Jones, who had just two points in Saturday’s 90-81 loss to Florida, hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions in the burst.
The Tigers went 9-of-24 on 3-pointers, led by Jones at 5-of-7. The Commodores were just 3-of-17 from beyond the arc.
Vanderbilt’s first points came on a runner by Edwards about five minutes into the game. The Commodore cut the deficit to 19-8 on four straight points by Collins. The second of those was a follow-up two-hand slam at the 10:55 mark.
The Commodores closed the first half on a 15-5 run, pulling within 34-32 on Tyler Nickel’s 3-pointer with six seconds left.
Vanderbilt took its first lead at 43-42 when Edwards pushed into the frontcourt after Manon’s steal and popped a 3-pointer from the wing. One possession later, Jaylen Carey’s offensive rebound and layup gave the Commodores a 45-42 lead and capped an 8-0 run with 16:57 to play.
