13th-ranked Auburn defeats UNA, going 2-0 while Pearl is sidelined.
Auburn, Alabama (AP) – With Bruce Pearl out from the team, the Auburn Tigers won two games handily. He’s currently headed back.
In the Tigers’ second and last game without their suspended coach on Tuesday night, No. 13 Auburn defeated North Alabama 70-44 behind 14 points apiece from Walker Kessler, 13 from Jabari Smith, and 13 from Devan Cambridge.
Five minutes into the second half, the Tigers (9-1), winning their sixth consecutive, failed to extend their lead into double digits, but more than made up for it as they outscored the Lions (6-4) by a score of 25 to 2.
Auburn’s second consecutive blowout victory brought Pearl’s NCAA-mandated ban to an end. On Tuesday, Steven Pearl, his son, took over as head coach following Wes Flanigan’s 99-68 victory over Nebraska on Saturday.
As Cambridge put it, “Nobody tried to be Bruce Pearl.” Each of them had a different approach. They were who they were.
The NCAA punished Auburn for unethical behaviour involving former assistant head coach Chuck Person, and one of the consequences was Pearl’s suspension, along with four years of probation. Pearl received a citation for neglecting to keep an eye on his helper and encourage cooperation enough.
According to Steven Pearl, the support team and other Auburn coaches assisted in filling the coaching vacancy.
We were just ready to take on something like this, which made these two games so much simpler, he added.
Since Bruce Pearl couldn’t communicate with his employees or players until after midnight, his son assumed he would probably be receiving a call.
Smith pulled down ten rebounds, Kessler eight rebounds and five blocks. Wendell Green Jr. finished with six assists and 12 points. Ten points were scored by Cambridge in the second half, which included a reverse slam and breakaway during the game-winning run on a bounce feed from Green.
Cambridge remarked, “I’ve been waiting for a fast-break like that all year.” “That was on my mind the entire game.”
Daniel Ortiz scored 12 points on 5 of 18 shots to lead North Alabama. For the Lions, who hit only 18 of 61 shots (29.5%), C.J. Brim scored nine points. Just 17 points were scored by North Alabama in the second half.
Lions coach Tony Pujol stated, “Coach Steven Pearl deserves all the credit for the way he prepared his team.” Their resistance was oppressive. Our team had a lot of trouble in the second half.
Even though Kessler’s three consecutive inside buckets helped Auburn’s advantage reach double digits, their hot streak was far from over. Tigers stopped eleven shots.
Steven Pearl remarked, “We were very sloppy offensively in the first half.” Did a terrible job carrying out. We found their physicality bothersome.
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In the Lions’ second game against a ranked team since moving up to Division I in the 2018–19 season, North Alabama played excellent defence to keep it close much of the way.
