CANCUN, Mexico (AP) — Wendell Green Jr. and Johni Broome each scored 14 points and No. 13 Auburn beat Bradley 85-64 on Tuesday night in the first round of the Cancun Challenge.
Auburn (5-0) advances to play in Wednesday night’s championship game of the Riviera Division.
Green also had six assists and Broome, who got the start after sitting out the last game due to injury, had nine rebounds and three blocks.
Green was scoreless for the first 16 minutes of the game, but he made a 3-pointer to end a 7-0 Bradley run late in the first half and he beat the halftime buzzer with a layup to give the Tigers a 45-32 lead. It was the most points Auburn has scored in the first half this season.
Allen Flanigan sank a 3-pointer in the corner to extend the Tiger’s lead to 55-38 early in the second half.
K.D. Johnson added 13 points, Flanigan had 12 points and Jaylin Williams scored 11 for Auburn. The Tigers shot 56% from the field (31 of 55), including 8 of 17 from distance.
Williams made a pair of 3-pointers early as Auburn scored 12 of the opening 14 points of the game. Williams scored 10 of his 11 points in the first half.
Connor Hickman and Duke Deen each scored 15 points for Bradley (3-2), which will play in the third-place contest on Wednesday. Malevy Leons added 11 points.
Auburn leads the all-time series 3-0, including a 90-86 victory in the 1988 NCAA Tournament to spoil a 44-point performance by Bradley’s Hersey Hawkins, a future NBA All-Star.
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