LEXINGTON, Ky. — Miles Kelly scored a game-high 23 points to lead Auburn, the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, to an 83-63 victory over 16-seed Alabama State on Thursday in a first-round South Region game.Kelly finished 7 of 15 from 3-point range while player of the year candidate Johni Broome overcame a slow start to finish with 14 points and 11 rebounds as the Tigers pulled away in the second half. Tahaad Pettiford finished with 16 points for Auburn.Auburn (29-5) advances to the second round against ninth-seed 9 Creighton, which earned an 89-75 victory over Louisville.Amarr Knox had 18 for Alabama State (20-16), while TJ Madlock added 11 and CJ Hines chipped in with nine points. Knox hit the buzzer-beating layup against Saint Francis (PA) in the First Four to get the Hornets into the first round.Kelly got the Tigers off to a fast start by hitting his first four 3-point attempts as Auburn took an 18-8 lead less than eight minutes into the game.Alabama State wouldn’t go quietly in the first half. Following a Broome turnover in the lane, the Hornets missed back-to-back 3-point attempts. But they grabbed the offensive rebound each time, including an Ubong Okon putback to cap a 9-0 run and draw Alabama State within 28-24 with 5:31 left in the first half.