AUBURN, Ala. (AP) Danjel Purifoy had 17 points and nine rebounds and No. 8 Auburn beat Lipscomb 86-59 on Sunday to improve to 12-0.
The Tigers remained one of two undefeated teams nationally after Liberty’s loss to LSU, joining No. 15 San Diego State.
Auburn got off to a slow start against Lipscomb (5-8), a team coming off a 23-point loss at Vermont, but dominated late.
Jamal Johnson matched his season high with 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. Christian Okoro also scored 14 points.
Samir Doughty had 11 points and seven assists, and Austin Wiley added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
KJ Johnson led Lipscomb with 17 points. Ahsan Asadullah scored 12 points despite picking up his fourth foul with 12:43 remaining. Michael Buckland added 11.
Auburn, which trailed by eight points early, scored 17 points in a row at one point and took a 40-25 lead into halftime.
The closest Lipscomb came in the second half was 55-44 on three free throws by Johnson, who was fouled on a 3-point shot. Auburn answered with Okoro’s layup and a 3-pointer by Devan Cambridge, both off passes from Doughty.
BIG PICTURE
Lipscomb: Jumped out to a 10-2 lead with hot shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers from Buckland. Shot just 38.6%.
Auburn: Started slowly after an eight-day layoff for the holidays. Made 31 of 60 shots.
UP NEXT Lipscomb faces its first Atlantic Sun Conference opponent of the season, at Stetson Thursday night.
Auburn opens Southeastern Conference Saturday at Mississippi State.
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