Auburn nearly went into its Christmas break a little early Monday but managed to pull out a 77-72 win against Alabama State because of a smothering fullcourt defense.

The Tigers forced 24 turnovers, turning them into 31 points to erase an 11-point second half deficit against the reigning SWAC regular season champions.

Tay Waller hit six 3-pointers to finish with 21 points. Korvotney Barber had 10 points and 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double.

Some thoughts:

• Interestingly, Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo said he was surprised the Tigers' trap defense worked as well as it did. Alabama State has senior guards with Brandon Brooks and Andrew Hayles, who are both capable of breaking just such a press. But they didn't. In fact, Brooks committed six turnovers, the only demerit on his 24-point, 7-assist night. "It got the pace of the game going," Lebo said of the press. "We kind of got a little bit of juice."

• Alabama State's 24 turnovers were the most Auburn has forced against a Division I team this year. Division II Tuskegee committed 29 turnovers against the Tigers last week.

• At one point, Alabama State committed eight straight tunovers. Auburn capitalized with a 17-0 run. Now that is being opportunistic.

• Waller did more than just hit 3's. He had five rebounds, four steals and an assist too.

• Lebo praised Rasheem Barrett for having one of his best games of the year. The senior, who battled a groin problem early in the season, finished with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal.

• Two unnerving signs for the Tigers. Alabama State out-rebounded them 39-34. And Auburn went 16-for-30 from the free throw line. Those are bad indicators if a team is going to be playing a lot of close games.