National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Auburn 83, Georgia St 65
When: 9:00 PM ET, Monday, November 14, 2016
Where: Auburn Arena, Auburn, Alabama
Officials: # Sean Casey, # AJ Desai, # Antonio Petty
Attendance: 6980

Danjel Purifoy and Jared Harper each had 19 points and Auburn used a strong second half to beat Georgia State 83-65 in a Cancun Classic game at Auburn on Monday.

Horace Spencer added 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting for the Tigers (2-0), who outscored the Panthers 48-35 over the last 20 minutes after both teams struggled to find their rhythm in the opening stanza.

Georgia State (1-1) had 15 turnovers by halftime and made just one of its nine three-point attempts through 20 minutes. The Panthers only trailed 35-30, however, because Auburn had eight turnovers of its own and went just 10-for-19 at the free throw line.

The Panthers cut the margin to two in the second half, doing so for the last time on a Justin Seymour jumper that made it 39-37 with 16:08 to play. An 8-0 Auburn run pushed the margin to 10, and after a Seymour three-pointer got the Panthers back within single digits, the Tigers scored the next six to end the threat.

Seymour and forward Jeremy Hollowell each had 20 points for Georgia State. The Panthers turned the ball over just three times in the second half, but aside from Seymour and Hollowell, Georgia State combined to make just eight of its 30 shots.

The Tigers helped themselves by shooting better in the second half, making 16 of their 20 free-throw attempts after the break.

This game was a reunion of sorts for Auburn forward LaRon Smith, who played for Georgia State for two seasons before transferring. He finished with two points and three blocked shots.

Auburn will play Eastern Kentucky in its next on-campus game of the Cancun Classic on Thursday, while Georgia State will travel to Purdue on Friday. Each school will also play a pair of games in Mexico on November 22-23.
Top Game Performances
 
Georgia St   Auburn
Jeremy Hollowell 20 Scoring Jared Harper 19
Jeremy Hollowell 4 Assists Ronnie Johnson 5
Justin Seymour 6 Rebounds Mustapha Heron 8
Jeremy Hollowell 8 Free Throws Made Mustapha Heron 8
Malik Benlevi 3 Steals Jared Harper 3
Jeff Thomas 2 Blocks LaRon Smith 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Georgia St 65 36.7 5-23 16-24 9 33 3 8 18
Auburn 83 47.2 7-21 26-39 13 38 6 7 16