Yale falls to No. 21 Auburn

AUBURN, Ala. — K.D. Johnson scored 19 points, Jabari Smith added 17 points and seven rebounds and No. 21 Auburn blew past Yale 86-64 on Saturday.

Johnson, who transferred from Georgia this offseason, overcame an injury scare in the first half to lead the Tigers in scoring. The win marked the fifth straight game of doubledigit points for Smith, a 6-foot-10 freshman forward who is widely projected to be an early selection in the 2022 NBA draft.

Auburn (7-1) had five players score in double figures. Zep Jasper, Devan Cambridge and Dylan Cardwell all finished with 10 points.

The Tigers blocked 14 shots from Yale (5-5), including eight in the first 10 minutes of the game. Walker Kessler, who exited the game in the first half due to injury, had four blocks in just eight minutes of action.

Yale had a difficult time matching up with the size of Auburn and shot 32% from the field for the game, compared with 44% for the Tigers.

Matthue Cotton led the Bulldogs 14 points.

While Yale was unable to counter Auburn’s height advantage, it stayed competitive throughout the first half with strong 3-point shooting. That most likely will be the key to the Bulldogs’ chances of finishing nonconference play strong and competing for another Ivy League title.

Yale hosts Albany on Tuesday.

Le Moyne 56, SCSU 55: At New Haven, Nino Hernandez had a game-high 20 points to lead the Dolphins to an NE-10 win.

Lyron Bennett paced Southern (2-4,0-3 NE-10) with 15 points, while Ulyen Coleman added 14 points.

Le Moyne improved to 4-3 (2-2 NE-10).

New Haven 65, Saint Rose 54: At Albany, N.Y., Majur Majak had a doubledouble with 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Chargers to an NE-10 win.

Quashawn Lane had a team-high 15 points for UNH (5-3, 2-2 NE-10), while Derrick Rowland added 12 points.

Josh McGettigan lead Saint Rose (4-3, 2-2 NE-10) with 17 points.

Plymouth St. 83, WCSU 79:

At Danbury, Dante Rivera finished with 21 points to lead the Panthers past WestConn in the Little East Conference opener for both.

Matthew Turner led all scorers with 22 points for WCSU (6-2, 0-1 LEC), while Ryan Alkins added 15 points and Ahmod Privott finished with 11 points.

Albertus Magnus 85, St. Joseph (Maine) 73: At Standish, Maine, Tyreek Perkins led four Falcons in double figures with 23 points as Albertus won its GNAC opener.

Justice Washington had a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Falcons (3-1, 1-0 GNAC).