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Wiley, No. 8 Auburn top UNC Asheville 67-41

Auburn Xavier Basketball

Auburn guard Samir Doughty (10), left, forward Anfernee McLemore (24) and forward Horace Spencer (0) celebrate after defeating Xavier 88-79 in overtime in an NCAA college basketball game at the Maui Invitational, Monday, Nov. 19, 2018, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

AP

AUBURN, Ala. -- Austin Wiley scored 14 points, Samir Doughty added 13 and No. 8 Auburn had a season low in points but managed an easy 67-41 victory over UNC Asheville on Tuesday night.

The Tigers (7-1) forced 25 turnovers and blocked 12 shots to overcome their offensive struggles.

The Bulldogs (1-7) managed to slow down an offense that came in averaging 89 points, but they couldn’t score much either.

Wiley was 5 of 7 from the field and blocked five shots. Malik Dunbar helped spark the Tigers off the bench with eight points, seven rebounds and five steals.

UNC Asheville was led by Luke Lawson’s nine points off the bench on 3-of-4 3-point shooting. Leading scorer DeVon Baker struggled his way to four points, 11 below his season average. He made 2 of 10 shots and committed nine turnovers.

The Tigers heated up a bit in the second half, making 13 of 21 shots (61.9 percent), and they didn’t do anything to diminish a nation’s-best 26.4-point average victory margin. Their previous season low was 72 points against No. 3 Duke, Auburn’s only loss.

None of Auburn’s top threats had big games. Leading scorer Bryce Brown had seven points on 3-of-9 shooting. Jared Harper had nine points and five assists but also an uncharacteristic four turnovers.

A late 3-pointer gave Chuma Okeke seven points.

The Tigers did have a couple of dominant bursts. They scored 12 straight early in the first half and built a commanding lead with a 15-0 run in the second half. That run was capped by Horace Spencer’s alley-oop dunk and his subsequent steal and layup to push the lead to 30.

BIG PICTURE

UNC Asheville: Has dropped seven in a row since an opening win over St. Andrews. The Bulldogs won 70-69 on their last trip to Auburn in 2010. They didn’t attempt a free throw in the first 30 minutes and made 14 of 45 shots (31.1 percent).

Auburn: Started 2-of-8 shooting with three turnovers and was tied nearly six minutes into the game. The Tigers made just 10 of 27 shots (37 percent) en route to a 33-18 halftime lead.

UP NEXT

UNC Asheville hosts Western Carolina on Saturday.

Auburn ends a three-game homestand Saturday night against Dayton.

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