KeShawn Murphy scored 19 points in just 20 minutes Wednesday night, leading five players in double figures as No. 22 Auburn plastered Jackson State 112-66 in Auburn, Ala.
Reserve Filip Jovic added 18 on 8-of-10 shooting from the field for Auburn (4-1), while Simon Walker hit five 3-pointers in just seven minutes to finish with 15 points. Elyjah Freeman stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. Kevin Overton chipped in 13 as Auburn canned 29 of 33 2-point shots on its way to converting 64.6 % overall.
Jayme Mitchell scored a game-high 24 points for Jackson State (0-4) and Dorian McMillian added 16 off the bench. Daeshun Ruffin contributed 16 points but also had seven of Jackson State’s 22 turnovers. Auburn cashed those in for a whopping 39 points.
Auburn was a 30 1/2-point favorite and didn’t waste much time displaying it was the superior team. After Mitchell sank a 3-pointer to give Jackson State its only lead, Freeman drilled a 3-pointer 18 seconds later to start a 10-0 run that was a precursor of the game’s remainder.
Auburn pushed the lead to double figures on Freeman’s layup at the 12:52 mark and kept it there. The margin got to 20 when Tahaad Pettiford converted a layup with 7:03 left and reached 30 on Overton’s 3-pointer with 2:07 remaining.
Auburn took a 55-24 lead to intermission and didn’t let off the gas pedal much in the second half. It upped the advantage to 40 when Blake Muschalek drilled a 3-pointer with 8:56 remaining and owned a 47-point lead in the final three minutes.
The only suspense for most of the second half involved when Auburn would reach the 100-point mark. Emeka Opurum got it to triple figures when he took a pass from Kaden Magwood and dunked at the 3:40 mark for a 100-54 cushion.
The final point total marked the first time Auburn reached 100 points under first-year coach Steven Pearl.
