Brown's 20, Smith's 19 lead Georgia Southern past FIU 75-68

MIAMI (AP) Tookie Brown scored 20 points, Ike Smith added 19 and Georgia Southern held off Florida International 75-68 on Thursday night.

Tied at the half, the Eagles broke away to a quick 10-point lead before the Panthers clawed back, eventually taking a 56-55 lead on a layup by Michael Kessens with 5:59 to play.

Jake Allsmiller then sandwiched 3-pointers around a layup by Mike Hughes to put Georgia Southern up seven with 3:13 to play. In the last two minutes, the Eagles made 10 of 12 free throws, including nine straight, to secure the win.

Allsmiller hit 5 of 7 behind the arc and scored 15 points for Georgia Southern (6-5).

Donte McGill set the FIU (3-8) school record with 30 straight free throws before finishing 7 of 8 and scoring 21 points. Kimar Williams added 15 points and 10 rebounds..

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Purifoy, hot-shooting Auburn rout Coastal Carolina, 117-72

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) Jared Harper buried a 3-pointer on Auburn's first shot of the night, and the Tigers never stopped hitting them.

With Danjel Purifoy scoring 27 points, a short-handed Auburn team tied the Southeastern Conference record with 21 3-pointers in a 117-72 victory Thursday night over Coastal Carolina.

The Tigers (7-2) raced to a 56-27 halftime lead and continued that 3-point barrage throughout the second half. They wound up 21 of 42 from beyond the arc and matched the fifth-most points in school history.

''I don't even know where those shots came from but everybody was making 3s out of nowhere,'' said Purifoy, who was 5 of 10 from beyond the arc and has two 27-point games in a row. ''Walk-ons coming off the bench and making 3s. It was fun to watch.''

Kentucky also made 21 3s in 1990 and Arkansas matched that in 1997. Nine Auburn players made at least one 3-pointer a day after starters Bryce Brown and Horace Spencer were suspended following their arrest on misdemeanor marijuana possession charges.

Walk-on Will Macoy got into the act with eight points and a pair of 3s in just five minutes late in the game.

Purifoy also scored 27 points in Auburn's 72-71 loss to Boston College on Monday.

Harper was 5 of 6 from 3-point range and scored 16 points with seven assists. Mustapha Heron added 17 points and seven rebounds for the Tigers. Ronnie Johnson added 11 points and T.J. Dunans 10.

''I think from the standpoint of what it's supposed to look like, what it can look like, that was about as good as it's gotten since I've been here,'' Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. ''I didn't see it coming given all the adversity that we've had this week.

''But adversity tends to reveal character. And perhaps in some ways our character got revealed tonight.''

Elijah Wilson led Coastal Carolina (5-7) with 22 points and Jaylan Robertson had 12.

Auburn closed the first half on a 31-5 tear.

''Without question, Auburn played lights out,'' Coastal Carolina coach Cliff Ellis said. ''You've got to give them all the credit.

''It was 25-22 and then all of a sudden it just went haywire and shots started falling. It just caught on with everybody. I think everybody started feeling the magic.''

Missing two starters didn't slow the Tigers down. LaRon Smith and TJ Lang took their spots.

''I feel like they felt like they let the team down,'' Auburn's Anfernee McLemore said. ''They were more upset that they couldn't fill their role on the team.''

McLemore played a bigger role with Spencer out and produced nine points and eight rebounds.

BIG PICTURE

Coastal Carolina: Fell to 5-14 against teams from Power 5 conferences since the 2010-11 season. Got 15 points in the first half from Wilson, and 12 from the rest of the team.

Auburn: Improved to 5-0 at Auburn Arena this season. Previous school record was 19 3-pointers. Outrebounded a team that came in second nationally in total rebounds, 48-40.

ELLIS' RETURN: Coastal Carolina's Ellis led the Auburn program from 1994-2004. He led the Chanticleers to a win in 2014 and took the Tigers down to the wire in an 81-78 loss last season.

UP NEXT

Auburn: Hosts Mercer Sunday before more high-profile games away from home against Oklahoma and UConn.

Coastal Carolina: Hosts Wofford on Monday night for their final home game of 2016.

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Yurtseven debuts as NC State beats Appalachian State 97-64

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) It didn't take Omer Yurtseven long to show flashes of the shooting touch and range that made him a big international recruit for North Carolina State.

The 7-foot Turkish freshman had nine of his 12 points in the first half Thursday night to highlight the Wolfpack's 97-64 win against Appalachian State, a good first step for a player who had to wait a month to make his college debut due to an NCAA eligibility dispute.

''I was not nervous,'' Yurtseven said. ''I was excited though. The first time when I was going on the court, I was excited.''

The NCAA had required the five-star freshman to sit out the first nine games and pay $1,000 to charity after reviewing his time playing for a club team overseas. He entered at the 14:57 mark of the first half and played 24 minutes, making 4 of 6 shots and even stepping out to knock down a 3-pointer from the top while drawing loud cheers from fans - some coined it ''Yurtmas'' on social media - for the home-standing Wolfpack (8-2).

''It was really fun,'' Yurtseven said. ''I really missed being out there.''

Fellow freshman Dennis Smith Jr. finished with 22 points to lead N.C. State, which scored the first 10 points and led big all night. Maverick Rowan added 13 points in his second game back from a seven-game absence due to a concussion, while N.C. State shot 52 percent.

''He spaces the floor,'' Smith said of Yurtseven, ''he knows how to roll, sets great screens, he's very smart, high IQ, sees the floor pretty well. He just makes the offense a lot better.''

Ronshad Shabazz scored 14 points for the Mountaineers (3-6), who shot 32 percent after entering the game shooting about 45 percent on the season.

''We had tremendous opportunities to make shots, shots we usually make, and we just missed them today,'' Mountaineers coach Jim Fox said. ''It affected us and when you keep missing and missing wide-open shots, it takes a toll on you and carries on to other parts of the game.''

BIG PICTURE

Appalachian State: The Mountaineers suffered another big loss to a power-conference opponent. They trailed by as many as 26 before losing 103-94 in the second game at Tennessee, lost by 35 at Duke on Nov. 26 and by 33 against the Wolfpack.

N.C. State: Adding Yurtseven meant this was the first game the Wolfpack was at full strength. For coach Mark Gottfried, the focus now is to integrate Yurtseven into the rotation and get him adjusted to American basketball while simultaneously bringing along a young rotation that hasn't played much together - one he hopes will have a very different look come February.

''We've got a little more depth now,'' Gottfried said, ''which is nice.''

HANDS OFF

Yurtseven had foul trouble during two exhibition games, including when he fouled out in just 11 minutes against Division II Barton. He had four fouls Thursday but managed to avoid major trouble in what will be a big part of his adjustment to the American college game.

''You just have to watch the referees,'' Yurtseven said. ''They talk to you, so they tell you what you've got to do, what you shouldn't do.''

GOTTFRIED'S TAKE

Like Smith, Gottfried sees plenty of potential for Yurtseven to make an impact with his shooting and passing touch.

''When the ball's in his hands, especially in the high post, he's really effective,'' the coach said. ''And (the players) know that. Again, I think the more he plays with our guys, the more they play and just get comfortable, he's going to find ways to score within our offense.

''But I do think our guys are excited about playing with him because he's such a good passer. I think that does a lot for our team.''

UP NEXT

Appalachian State: The Mountaineers host James Madison on Saturday.

N.C. State: N.C. State is home Sunday against Fairfield.