AUBURN, Ala.— Denver Jones scored a season-high 21 points, shooting 7-for-9 from 3-point range, to help No. 13 Auburn close the regular season with a 92-78 victory over Georgia on Saturday night in Southeastern Conference play.
The Tigers (24-7, 13-5) secured the No. 4 seed and a double bye in the SEC tournament with their third straight victory, making a potentially less grueling path in Nashville. They'll play in Friday's second quarterfinal.
"It takes three games to win the championship," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "We've won three games in a row several times this year. Obviously we know the competition in this league is incredible."
The Tigers already had a double-digit lead over the Bulldogs (16-15, 6-12) much of the way, and then Jones hit three straight 3s in a two-minute span to help Auburn build a 60-39 cushion.
"I feel like it's about time for everybody to start getting hot," Jones said. "Right here in March, it's about the right time where everybody starts playing with more confidence and starts taking the open shots and starts knocking them down."
Georgia cut its deficit to 12 points in the final nine minutes, but then Jones hit 3-pointer No. 7 and Jaylin Williams followed that with a 3 of his own.
"It could have gotten ugly, and it has gotten ugly in this building against other teams," Georgia coach Mike White said. "They're really good. Auburn's terrific. They executed at a really high level. Really passed it well. They've just got balanced scoring. They've got depth, skill level."
The Tigers came into the game tied for second in the SEC with South Carolina, Alabama and Kentucky — all of whom won their games. Auburn won the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Gamecocks, taking South Carolina from potential SEC regular-season champion earlier in the week to missing out on the double bye.
Johni Broome had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for Auburn, while Williams scored 13. Both were likely playing their final home game. Dylan Cardwell added 10 points.
Jones continued a recent hot shooting streak.
"It makes us more dangerous, and a better coach would have gotten him 14 shots instead of just nine," Pearl said. "For real. That's on me."
Silas Demary Jr. led Georgia with 15 points while shooting 3-for-3 from behind the arc. Russel Tchewa added 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Noah Thomasson scored 12.
Auburn pushed its lead to 14 points six times in the first half, the last coming on Williams' fast-break dunk at the buzzer. He slammed it home after a bounce pass from Chad Baker-Mazara following a missed Georgia free throw with four seconds left.
It was the team's 17th assist among 19 first-half baskets, and the Tigers finished with 29. That was the most in Pearl's 10-season tenure.
Georgia is the No. 11 seed for the 14-team SEC bracket and will play the second game of the tourney, facing No. 14 Missouri on Wednesday night in Nashville.