DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. --- The Auburn Montgomery men's basketball team outscored Puerto Rico-Mayaguez 60-42 in the second half to cruise to a 97-74 victory over the Tarzans on Friday, Nov. 15 in game one of the Daytona Mitsubishi/Kia Shootout at Embry-Riddle University.  

NOTEWORTHY
- The win brings AUM's record to 2-2 on the season, while bringing their all-time advantage over the Tarzans to 1-0.
- The Warhawks' second-half point total served as their highest tally in a half this season, while marking for the first time since the 2016-17 season that AUM has scored 60 points in a half.  
- Freshman guard Jaxon Hunter made his collegiate debut in the contest for the Warhawks. 
 
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
- Darrion Taylor led all players with 23 points on the evening. Taylor, who went 7-8 from the field, 4-4 on threes and dished out three assists, needs just 10 more points to become the 19th member of the 1,000-point club for AUM Men's Basketball.
- Maharrith Jackson tied a career-high with 14 points, to go along with a game-high seven rebounds and two assists.
- Darryl Jones and Jamichael Smart both logged career-highs in points and rebounds. Jones went for 12 points and six rebounds in the game, while Smart notched 11 points and a game-high seven boards.
- Stanley Davis added 13 points off of the AUM bench, going 4-7 on three-pointers.
- Joshua Moore accounted for nine points and six rebounds in the win. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Warhawks opened up the game on an 8-4 scoring run over the first four minutes, with threes by Moore and Jackson to get the offense going. 
After a four-point play by the Tarzans to knot it up at eight-all at the 15:11 mark, both teams would trade buckets over the next five minutes to see the score read 17-17 with 10:53 to go in the half.
- AUM would rattle off an 8-1 run over the next four minutes to claim a 25-18 lead with 6:18 to play in the first. 
- Puerto Rico-Mayaguez would get to within one possession two more times before half's end, but a trey from Taylor at the 1:10 mark would represent the period's final basket and give AUM a 37-32 lead at halftime.
- The Tarzans kept AUM's lead to within two possessions over the second half's first four and half minutes, with the score reading 45-40 at the 16:30 mark. 
- The Warhawks would go on to break things open with a 27-8 run over the next five minutes and change, to lead 72-48 at the 10:35 mark.
- AUM would stay on top by 20-plus points the rest of the way, while leading by as much as 29 before the eventual 97-74 final score. 
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- A season-high five Warhawks scored in double figures in the game.
- AUM shot 44 percent (33-74) on all field goals, including 51 percent on a season-best 14-27 shooting night from beyond the arc.  
- The Warhawks shot a season-high 77 percent (17-22) from the free throw line. 
-The Orange and Black got a season-best 46 points off contribution from their bench, while scoring a season-high 23 second-chance points, 32 points in the paint and 23 points off of Tarzans turnovers.
- Friday's game featured seven lead changes and four tied scores.
 
UP NEXT
- The Warhawks face a quick turnaround, as they will return to the court on Saturday, Nov. 16 against host institution Embry-Riddle on the final day of the Daytona Mitsubishi/Kia Shootout. Tip-off is slated for 6:00 p.m. (CST).
 
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