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Auburn basketball dominates the paint to take care of business against Chattanooga

The competition will soon ratchet up, but all Auburn basketball can do in the meantime is take care of business.

The Tigers (10-2) did that in Neville Arena on Saturday, dominating Chattanooga, 101-66, to pick up their fifth straight win. Coach Bruce Pearl's team shot 56.1% from the field and 44% from beyond the 3-point arc, and three Tigers finished in double digits.

Jaylin Williams finished with a game-high 21 points, Johni Broome poured in 18 and Chad Baker-Mazara added 13. Baker-Mazara connected on three of the five triples he took, and Williams was perfect from the field on all nine of his attempts.

The Mocs (8-5), conversely, shot 33.3% from 3-point range and 39.3% on 2-point shots.

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Johni Broome dominates inside

Broome nearly secured a double-double, coupling his scoring output with eight rebounds. His production helped lead the Tigers to a dominating performance in the paint, as they outscored the Mocs 52-20 inside and finished with a 46-23 advantage on the glass.

Dylan Cardwell ended with nine rebounds, and Williams and Chaney Johnson each added five.

Quick start puts Chattanooga away

Auburn opened the game by going on a 12-0 run over the first 4:20. Broome had eight points and three rebounds over that stretch, and it took Chattanooga more than five minutes to hit a 2-point shot. The Tigers saw their lead balloon to 21 just after the midway point of the first half, and they never looked back.

PGs continue to play like an elite duo

Five-star freshman Aden Holloway and sophomore Tre Donaldson have combined through the early part of the 2023-24 season to give Auburn some of the best statistical point guard play in the country. That trend continued versus the Mocs, as the duo had nine assists and no turnovers.

What's next

The Tigers will close their nonconference slate at home against Penn on Tuesday (8 p.m. CT, SEC Network). The Quakers (8-6) have won two of their last three games, with their latest game being a 39-point loss to Houston on Saturday.

Auburn will then open SEC play at Arkansas on Saturday The Razorbacks have losses this season to UNC Greensboro, Memphis, North Carolina and Oklahoma, though Bud Walton Arena still provides one of the most-feared environments in college basketball.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball handles its business against Chattanooga