Miles Kelly helps No. 2 Auburn beat Richmond 98-54
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl reacts to a play during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Richmond, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Auburn, Ala. Credit: AP/Butch Dill
AUBURN, Ala. — Miles Kelly and Tahaad Pettiford each scored 15 points, and No. 2 Auburn beat Richmond 98-54 on Sunday.
Bouncing back nicely after a loss at Duke, Auburn (8-1) had six players score in double figures. Chad Baker-Mazara had 13 points, six rebounds and five assists. Denver Jones made three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.
Johni Broome had 11 points, six assists and two blocks for the Tigers. Jahki Howard scored a career-high 13 points.
Richmond (4-5) was led by Mikkel Tyne’s 16 points. Dusan Neskovic scored 12, and DeLonnie Hunt added 10 points.
Takeaways
Richmond: The Spiders had a lot to replace after winning the Atlantic 10 regular-season title last season, and they have struggled early this year on offense. Richmond had some trouble with Auburn’s size, and it only shot 20% on 3-pointers.
Auburn: Bruce Pearl’s Tigers simply took care of business in their first home game in 20 days. With Broome attracting plenty of double teams from Richmond, Auburn’s inside-out offense was efficient in scoring on open looks.
Key moment
Auburn went on a 13-2 run early in the first half.
Richmond guard DeLonnie Hunt (3) is founded by Auburn forward Johni Broome (4) as he lays in a basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Auburn, Ala. Credit: AP/Butch Dill
Key stat
After forcing only four turnovers in Wednesday's loss to Duke, Auburn got 15 takeaways against Richmond and turned them into 18 points.
Up next
Auburn faces Ohio State on Saturday in Atlanta. Richmond hosts Belmont on Saturday.
