Auburn defeats South Florida 52-40

AUBURN, Ala. -- Chris Denson and Frankie Sullivan scored 12 points each, and Varez Ward added 11 to lead Auburn over South Florida 52-40 Wednesday night.

Auburn (5-1) went on an 8-2 run to start the second half, increasing a one-point halftime advantage into a 29-22 lead on a pair of Ward free throws with 15:55 to go.

After South Florida (6-5) cut the lead back to two, 31-29, the Tigers went on a 14-3 run, culminating with a Denson teardrop in the lane, for a 45-32 advantage with 6:48 to go.

The run was enough to propel Auburn to the win, sealing its best start since the 2004-05 season.

"I liked the way we responded," Auburn coach Tony Barbee said. "I want to play a fast-paced game with this team. I want to score 80 points a night, but that always isn't going to happen. You have to win what I call a 'grind out' game, and tonight was one of those."

Ward and Sullivan, who both started the Tigers' first five games, came off the bench at the first timeout a little more than two minutes into the game. Barbee said the players started on the bench because nagging injuries had kept them out of practice for all but about two of the 11 days since their last game, an 81-59 loss to Seton Hall on Dec. 2.

Denson started in Sullivan's place, and Josh Wallace started at point guard for Ward.

"Guys who have practiced have earned their right to start. There's nothing more to that," Barbee said.

The Tigers, who entered Wednesday night in a tie for 337th out of 344 Division I teams with a 57.3 percent free-throw mark, made 15 of 18 (83.3 percent) from the line on the night.

Augustus Gilchrist led the Bulls with 10 points, as South Florida struggled to a 33.3-percent night from the field (14 of 42), 22.2 percent from 3-point range (4 of 18) and 50 percent from the free-throw line (8 of 16).

The Bulls were especially bad after the break, hitting only 5 of 19 (26.3 percent) from the field in the second half.

"It was a very frustrating night," South Florida coach Stan Heath said. "We couldn't pick and roll, we couldn't find the basket and we just couldn't score."

Gilchrist scored his 10 points in the first 14 minutes, then went scoreless for the rest of the game.

South Florida's 40 points were the lowest for an opponent against Auburn since Alabama A&M scored 40 on Dec. 29, 2008.

"All week we just focused on defense, and we just have to get better on the offensive end," said Denson, who also recorded three steals on the night. "That's what our main focus is on right now. I think we have the defense pat, but I think the layoff helped us a lot in that category."

South Florida jumped out to a 9-2 lead with 16:49 to go in the first half, thanks in large part to six points from Gilchrist, who hit two jumpers and added a put-back slam dunk.

Auburn missed its first five shots of the game before a breakaway dunk by Denson off a steal stopped the skid with 15:05 left.

The Bulls' lead stayed between one and five points until a Sullivan layup with 31 seconds left in the first half gave the Tigers their first lead of the game at 21-20, an advantage they'd take into halftime.

Both teams struggled to get anything going offensively in the first half. South Florida shot only 39.1 percent (9 of 23) from the field and committed seven turnovers, while Auburn shot 36.4 percent (8 of 22) and turned the ball over eight times.

Gilchrist led all scorers with 10 points in the first half for the Bulls. The senior shot 5 of 7 from the field, leaving the rest of his team to shoot 25 percent (4 of 16).

Ward scored seven in the first half for the Tigers, and Denson added six.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/15/2547083/auburn-defeats-south-florida-52.html

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