Auburn Routs Ark.-Pine Bluff
Auburn's big men spent the summer improving their games.
So far it's worked.
Mamadou N'diaye had career highs of 21 points and 18 rebounds and Chris Porter scored 20 as No. 3 Auburn overwhelmed Arkansas-Pine Bluff 100-44 Sunday.
Porter spent his days shooting 350 3-pointers a day in an effort to move his game out. N'diaye went to a camp for centers to work on a little bit of everything.
|
Porter came out firing by hitting two long jumpers one that was just inches short of being a 3-pointer he drove through the lane for an easy layup, then ended his run with a 3-pointer.
The preseason All-American, who was just 4-of-13 for 10 points in Auburn's season opening win over UAB, was 8-of-15 from the floor on Sunday and had 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, N'diaye picked up where he left off. The 7-foot center had a career-high 14 rebounds against UAB, and had almost matched that figure by halftime with 11. He was also 11-of-16 from the line.
"It helped to go (to the camp) and play against some of the big guys in the nation," N'diaye said. "I am more relaxed and stronger, too."
Arkansas-Pine Bluff coach Harold Blevins said he noticed the difference in N'diaye, who played against the Lions four years ago.
"Three years later, the way he's playing, he's going to make some money playing basketball," Blevins said. "He's really improved dramatically since then."
So have the Tigers (2-0), who bounced back from Friday's sloppy season-opening win over UAB by dominating the overmatched Lions from start to finish.
Porter opened the game by scoring nine of Auburn's first 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting and helping the Tiger take an 11-4 lead.
Auburn slowly pulled away from there, forcing 12 first-half turnovers in opening a 43-16 lead.
"Coach told us not to pay attention to the opponent today, but to pay attention to our game," forward Daymeon Fishback said. "He told us to be patient and not rush things. I think you can see that in the score tonight."
The Tigers started the second half with a 12-1 run and kept Arkansas-Pine Bluff from scoring through the first four minutes. The Lions missed their first seven shots, ending the drought on Troy Brown's layup at the 15:52 mark.
Auburn outrebounded the Lions 63-40, shot 44 percent and had only nine turnovers in the blowout.
"When you come in and play the No. 3 team in the country, you know it's going to be tough," Blevins said. "But I had no idea they could shoot the basketball like that."
The biggest cheer of the game came when backup Abe Smith, a fan favorite, hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Auburn 100 points.
It was a far better effort from the Tigers' disappointing 65-59 win over UAB, when they shot just 33 percent and had 18 turnovers. Auburn coach Cliff Ellis later said the Tigers were selfish on offense and unable to put away the Blazers.
Against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, it was never a problem.
"I thought our effort was very good," Ellis said. "The main thing is I think our team had confidence they would play better."
Jay Heard had 14 points for the Tigers, Scott Pohlman added 11 and Daymeon Fishback had 10. Doc Robinson had 11 assists.
The Lions got a team-high 10 points from Brown. They shot just 28 percent for the game and were 3-of-18 from 3-point range.
©1999 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed