Behind 18 points from Johni Broome and a double-double by Jaylin Williams, Auburn won the Legends Classic championship game with a 77-60 victory over St. Bonaventure on Friday night at New York.
Williams finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the game at Brooklyn. Denver Jones added 12 points, while Aden Holloway tallied eight points and three assists for the Tigers.
K.D. Johnson scored nine points with three assists), Dylan Cardwell had eight points with four rebounds and Chad Baker-Mazara added five points and two assists off the bench for Auburn (3-1).
The Tigers’ defense held St. Bonaventure to 39.7 percent (23 of 58) from the field, including 12.5 percent (3 of 24) from the 3-point line.
Chad Venning led St. Bonaventure with 14 points, while Mika Adams-Woods had 11 points for the Bonnies (2-2).
Moses Flowers (nine points) and Noel Brown (eight points, three rebounds) contributed off the bench for St. Bonaventure.
Auburn held a 15-6 lead with 14:42 to go in the first half behind six points from Broome and four points from Jones.
A 21-11 run midway through the opening half gave Auburn a 27-17 lead with 8:07 to play in the first frame.
After Broome made 1 of 2 free throws following a flagrant foul on the Bonnies, a dunk by Baker-Mazara and a layup by Broome gave the Tigers a 35-21 lead with 5:13 to go until halftime.
An 8-0 run to close the half – sparked by a windmill dunk by Williams and last-second 3-pointer by Jones – gave the Tigers a 48-28 lead at the break.
With 11:23 to play in the game, the Tigers maintained a 61-41 lead. St. Bonaventure cut Auburn’s advantage to 64-50 with 6:51 remaining after Venning nailed a jumper.
Auburn held a 73-57 lead with two minutes to play on two Cardwell free throws as St. Bonaventure never pulled within single digits in the second half.
–Field Level Media
