AUBURN, Ala. – Providing non-stop energy with his high-stepping, chest-bumping exploits, Dylan Cardwell sparked No. 15 Auburn's second-half comeback in Friday's 67-59 win over South Florida at Neville Arena, the Tigers' 40th consecutive non-conference home victory.
"His effort and energy, his ability to block shots and rebound, Dylan Cardwell was a factor," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "For a man his size, he moves so very well."
Cardwell equaled his career high with five blocked shots, scored seven points and played a starring role in Auburn's second-half surge with a steal and slam, a bounce pass assist for a dunk, and an alley-oop slam, after which he played to the crowd.
Wendell Green Jr. led Auburn with 20 points, with 18 coming in the second half to help Auburn outscore USF 46-29 after intermission to erase a nine-point halftime deficit.
"Our defense stepped up and that led to offense," Green said. "We were getting to the basket, we finished through contact and we scored in transition."
Allen Flanigan scored 18 points and made three of Auburn's five 3-pointers. Chris Moore added seven points and five rebounds to give the Tigers 25 points and nine rebounds from the small forward position.
"It felt good to see shots falling," said Flanigan who was 6-for-10 from the field and 3-for-6 on 3-pointers.
Green took control down the stretch, making three straight layups to put Auburn ahead 60-52 with 3:29 to play. The point guard made 9 of 11 free throws to help close out the Bulls.
"Auburn's defense was pretty good," Pearl said. "Right now, that's going to be what's going to have to carry us. We're not really good offensively right now. Our defense is going to have to carry us, and it did tonight."
After two Moore buckets early in the second half, Green's 3-pointer brought the crowd to its feet while cutting USF's lead to 33-29.
Yohan Traore's 3-pointer trimmed the Bulls' lead to one point before Flanigan gave the Tigers their first lead since the opening minutes with a corner 3-pointer, setting the stage for Cardwell's energetic sequence.
"It was big," Flanigan said. "Seeing that one fall and us going into the lead."
"Dylan and C-Mo [Moore], their energy is through the roof," Green said. "Those are two guys we rely on to always be on with their energy. It gets the crowd going, it gets loud in there and it makes it more fun."
Auburn trailed 30-21 after a lackluster first half that saw the Tigers shoot 25 percent from the field while committing 11 turnovers.
Flanigan made both of Auburn's first-half 3-pointers and led the Tigers with eight points in the half.
"We play 10 guys. That's BP's style of play," Flanigan said. "A lot of teams aren't going to play 10 guys. The purpose of that is for us to wear guys out."
Auburn (2-0) remains at Neville Arena Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT vs. Winthrop.
"I'm glad we got the win over a good team from a really good conference," Pearl said. "I'm glad to get the W."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
USF POSTGAME NOTES
>> For the second-straight game, Auburn used the starting lineup of Wendell Green Jr., Zep Jasper, Chris Moore, Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome (2-0).
>> With the win, Auburn now leads 7-1 in the all-time series with USF. The Tigers have won three straight in the series and remain an undefeated 4-0 versus the Bulls on their home court.
>> For the second-straight season, USF led the Tigers at halftime, 30-21. Last year in Tampa, the Bulls led 33-26 and Auburn would outscore USF, 32-19, in the second half to pull out the victory on the road. The last two games in the series have now been decided in single digits: 2021 (+6) and 2022 (+8).
>> Allen Flanigan came off the bench and scored eight of the team's first 18 points in the first half of play. He ended the night with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and a trio of 3-pointers. It marked his 28th double-figure game of his career.
>> Wendell Green Jr. scored in double digits for the second-consecutive game with a game-high 20 points against USF. He also dished out four assists in the ballgame. It marked his 13th career 20-point outing.
>> The Tigers have now won 40 consecutive non-conference games at Neville Arena. Head Coach Bruce Pearl is 50-3 at Auburn in non-conference home games.
>> It was the 25th-consecutive sell-out game at Neville Arena.
>> Dylan Cardwell turned in back-to-back games with a career-high tying five blocked shots in 18 minutes of action versus USF.