PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Jabari Smith scored 22 points and No. 19 Auburn beat Syracuse 89-68 Friday in the fifth-place game at Battle 4 Atlantis.
KD Johnson added 15 points for the Tigers (5-1), who went 2-1 in the three-game tournament.
Auburn led by 10 at halftime and increased the lead to 19 on a Johnson dunk with 15:05 to go. Syracuse used a 7-0 run to move closer to 64-54 with 8:10 remaining, but Smith ended the push with a 3-pointer from the wing and the Orange (3-3) didn’t get away. is not closer to 11 the rest of the way.
Buddy Boeheim, Cole Swider and Jesse Edwards each scored 17 points for Syracuse.
Jimmy Boeheim, the younger of coach Jim Boeheim’s two sons on the team who entered the game averaging 14.2 points, finished with three. His lone basket came on a 3-pointer with 13:44 left in the second half.
Auburn trailed 25-24 with 7:20 left in the first half before scoring the next 11 points to move up 35-25. The Tigers held the Orange to a field goal in the final 7:20 to enter the half 43-33.
STRONG POINTS:Auburn vs. Syracuse Men’s Basketball Video Highlights, Final Score in Battle for Atlantis
KD JOHNSON:Auburn basketball’s KD Johnson earns nickname ‘The Hamburglar’ from ESPN’s Carolyn Peck
JABARI SMITH:Freshman Jabari Smith scores 14 points to lead Auburn basketball past Loyola in the Bahamas
ADVICE
The teams had met only one other time with Syracuse edging Auburn 79-78 in the 2003 NCAA Tournament. The Orange won the title that season.
BIG PICTURE
Syracuse: The Orange opened the Battle 4 Atlantis shooting 29% in Wednesday’s 67-55 loss to VCU, but regrouped to beat Arizona State 92-84 in Thursday’s consolation bracket.
Auburn: The Tigers opened their stay in the Bahamas by falling to a wild 115-109 double-overtime loss to No. 22 UConn on Wednesday, but they rallied by beating Loyola Chicago 62-53 in the consolation bracket on Thursday.