National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Auburn 63, Grambling State 45
When: 5:00 PM ET, Friday, December 31, 2010
Where: Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, Auburn, Alabama
Officials: # Chuck Jones, # Garry Maxwell, # Bert Smith
Attendance: 5254

Auburn used a big first-half run to propel its way past visiting Grambling State 63-45 on Friday evening.

Up by just one point in the early going, Auburn (6-7) used a 22-2 surge to build a 36-12 cushion with 41 seconds left before intermission. Kenny Gabriel scored 10 of his team-best 17 points during the blitz.

Tommie Raschard Boatner scored 16 of his game-high 21 points after halftime for Grambling State (2-10), which rallied briefly but could get no closer than 14.

Gabriel added 12 rebounds for Auburn, which also got 14 points and nine boards from Earnest Ross.

Auburn, which wraps its non-conference schedule against Florida State on Monday, shot just 36.2 percent from the floor and hit only 3 of 14 from beyond the arc, but held Grambling to 32.7 percent shooting while forcing 23 turnovers.

Top Game Performances
 
Grambling State   Auburn
T. Raschard Boatner 21 Scoring Kenny Gabriel 17
Rupert Rose 3 Assists Josh Wallace 2
Rupert Rose 6 Rebounds Kenny Gabriel 12
Derron Hobbs 2 Free Throws Made Earnest Ross 6
T. Raschard Boatner 3 Steals Kenny Gabriel 3
Peter Roberson 6 Blocks Josh Langford 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Grambling State 45 32.7 5-17 6-15 6 34 6 11
Auburn 63 36.2 3-14 18-25 8 43 8 13