BROOKLYN, NY – Auburn’s Aden Holloway got the first start of his Auburn career on Thursday night in the Legends Classic and did not disappoint. The freshman from California scored 13 points and was lights out from deep, shooting 4-4 from behind the arc.
“Aden’s got something special now,” said coach Bruce Pearl. “He’s gonna make some tough ones. He’s gonna make some four-point plays… Every time he shoots it, we think it’s going in.”
Behind Holloway’s big night, Auburn cruised to a victory at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY over a young and inexperienced Notre Dame, led by first-year head coach Micah Shrewsberry.
“We got beat by a better team,” said coach Shrewsberry. “More talented team, more physical team. They played tougher than us.”
Auburn was red hot to open the game, going on a 12-2 run in the first few minutes.
The Fighting Irish couldn’t buy a three-point shot early, missing their first 11 attempts. It took nearly 18 minutes before Notre Dame’s Braden Shrewsberry got back-to-back to fall from deep. His second shot closed Auburn’s lead to just six, with a minute left in the half.
The Tigers took a 39-33 lead into the locker room at halftime. Shrewsberry’s 10 first-half points kept Notre Dame in the game.
Auburn opened the second half on an 11-0 run, stretching the lead to 17 with 17:11 left in the second half. Notre Dame took over four minutes before knocking down a field goal.
Midway through the second half, the momentum shifted Auburn’s direction, with the Irish struggling from the field. The Tigers led the Irish by 23 with 9:00 left.
Notre Dame’s offense never got going, struggling to hit shots from all over the floor. The Irish’s leading scorer, Markus Burton, shot an abysmal 4-20 from the floor in 29 minutes of action.
Auburn led by as many as 24 points on their way to a blowout 83 to 59 win over Notre Dame.
Auburn had elite guard play all night, highlighted by Tre Donaldson’s 10 points off the bench. The Tigers had 30 points off the bench tonight.
“You go up against Tre Donaldson and you go up against Aden Holloway, you don't get a chance to rest... There's nobody out there you can rest against. You have to defend at a high level for 40 minutes," said coach Shrewsberry.
Auburn won the Legends Classic in 2019 and will have the opportunity to become the second team to win the tournament twice since its conception in 2007 Friday night against St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies narrowly beat Oklahoma State 66-64.
Friday's game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. CT.
