It looked bleak for a while, but Auburn shook off its Mercer hangover and came away with a 12-point win against George Washington at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

For hack writers everywhere, this was the ultimate tale of two halves.

GW shot 56 percent in the first half, making 10 3-pointers and out-rebounding Auburn 16-13 despite using a small lineup.

Auburn responded by shooting 50 percent after halftime, making seven 3-pointers, holding GW to 33 percent shooting and finishing with a 37-26 advantage on the boards.

"It’s one thing to get beat, but it’s another thing to stay beat,” said Auburn guard Tay Waller, showing plenty of wisdom for being a first-year SEC player.

Some other thoughts:

• I was very impressed by freshman guard Frankie Sullivan, who scored 11 of his career-high 17 points in the second half. With Rasheem Barrett still out with a groin injury, Auburn needs someone to eat up some minutes at guard. Sullivan doesn't look anything like a freshman on the court, confident in his shooting stroke and not afraid to pull the trigger.

• Sulilvan said he simply had to slow things down after an erratic debut against Mercer, when he went 2-for-9 from the field. "(Coach Lebo) just told me to take it out of the fifth gear and go into the third gear,” Sullivan said. “I played more comfortable.”

• It would have been embarrassing to get out-rebounded by GW, which used a guard-heavy lineup for most of the game and plays one of its post players on the perimeter a lot. Auburn got back into it with a team effort on the glass. Nobody had more than six rebounds and everybody had at least two.

• The Tigers must have been practicing their free throws the last few days. They went 14-for-17 in the final 4:15 to put the game away. They were shooting 54 percent entering the game.
  

• Waller isn't just a shooter. He struggled with his shot Saturday but made up for it in other areas, notching a team-best five steals. Auburn finished with 11 steals in the game, holding a 25-7 advantage in points off turnovers.