The Auburn Tiger s continued their perfect start to the regular season on Monday night, taking down the Appalachian State Mountaineers 75-53 largely thanks to Tahaad Pettiford’s 26 points, his most in a game since the Tigers’ second-round loss to Tennessee in the SEC Tournament last year.

The Tigers came off a win over Southeastern Louisiana energized but still with much to prove, and the group answered quite a few questions in their win over the Mountaineers, who are ranked a full 44 spots lower than the Lions in t he KenPom rankings.

The Mountaineers tried to set the tone early courtesy of a three-pointer from Jaylon Colon, but a quick Tahaad Pettiford layup and subsequent three-pointer erased the lead before the junior tacked on an and-one layup and made the free throw to score the Tigers’ first eight points of the game.

The Tigers then went on a 15-4 run over the next six minutes, leading by as many as 13 before a 16-5 Appalachian State run brought the game within two points in the final six minutes…