AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn used a decisive 41-14 run to start the second half to rip open a tightly-contested game with a 98-77 decision over Cornell on Saturday afternoon at Auburn Arena. The Tigers, on the verge of joining the top 25 rankings, improved to 12-1, while Cornell fell to 5-7.

The home team had five double figure scorers, shot 51 percent from the floor and dominated the glass (47-30) to head into SEC play with a 10-game win streak. Bryce Brown had 19 points, Mustapha Heron had 17, and both Horace Spencer (12 points, nine rebounds) and Jared Harper (12 points, seven assists) were on the verge of double-doubles. Hitting that mark late in the game was Chuma Okeke with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Anfernee McLemore had eight points, five rebounds, five blocked shots and three steals in the win.

Matt Morgan led the Big Red with a game-high 25 points, equaling his season average that ranks second nationally. Stone Gettings has 12 points and seven rebounds and freshman Jake Kuhn, who entered the game with eight career points, had 16 points in the game's final 10 minutes. Cornell was held to 39 percent shooting overall and turned the ball over 14 times in the loss.

The first 14 minutes, and really the entire first half, was extremely competitive, with the Big Red trailing just 33-29 after Morgan hit four free throws following a Auburn foul, followed by an ensuing technical foul. Cornell had led 9-7 early before Brown scored six straight points to put the home team in the lead for good. Shortly after, Morgan picked up his second foul and Gettings picked up two quick ones late in the first half. 

Auburn put the game away almost instantly when the second half began, scoring points on 17 of its first 19 possessions and building the lead to as many as 39 points. Morgan scored 14 of his points after halftime and Kuhn netted all 16 of his, but the rally was too late to get the Big Red back in it.

Notes to Know
• Matt Morgan set a school record for consecutive double figure scoring games with his 35th consecutive, surpassing a 62-year-old mark of 34 set by John Sheehy '55.
• He also reached the 20-point plateau for the 11th consecutive game, extending his own school record.
• Freshman Jake Kuhn, whose career scoring high entering the game was three, became the first Cornell player to score 16 or more points in 15 or fewer minutes played since Ryan Wittman '10 had 19 points in 13 minutes of action in a 99-45 win over Ursinus during the 2008-09 season.

Next Up
• Cornell closes out its non-conference slate when it hosts Central Pennsylvania on Friday, Jan. 5 at 5:30 p.m. at Newman Arena.
• It will be the first-ever meeting between the Big Red and the Knights, who play in the USCAA (United States Collegiate Athletic Association).