MAUI, Hawaii – Bryce Brown became Auburn's all-time leading 3-point shooter Wednesday in a 73-57 win over Arizona to help the Tigers claim third place in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational.
"A big accomplishment," said Brown, who passed Wesley Person (1990-94) with career 3-pointer No. 263, capping an 11-0 run that gave the Tigers a 15-point lead with 5 minutes remaining.
Three minutes later, Brown added another, giving him 264 for his career. He finished with a game-high 19 points, including 4 of 8 on 3-pointers.
"It was a very exciting tournament," Brown said. "It just lets us know where we are as a team. It's only up from here."
Auburn's bench players outscored Arizona's 33-4, including 15 points from Malik Dunbar on 6-for-7 shooting.
"It was a blessing to be here," Dunbar said. "A blessing to play some top teams and show that we can stick with the best teams."
Dunbar stole an inbounds lob, leading to his fast-break slam and a 54-48 lead. After Samir Doughty banked in a 3-pointer, Horace Spencer grabbed an offensive rebound, dunked the putback, drew a foul and made a free throw to put Auburn ahead 61-51 with 6:06 to play.
"That's the key to our success," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "When we go to the bench and we don't drop off. The fact that those guys stayed ready, stayed right, and made a huge difference in our win is very much appreciated."
Backup point guard J'Von McCormick made both of his 3-point attempts and played 15 minutes, spelling Brown and Jared Harper in Auburn's third game in three days.
Auburn survived Arizona's 3-point barrage in the second half, preserving the lead while the Wildcats made nine shots from behind the line.
The Tigers led 28-22 at halftime, taking a 10-point lead on Dunbar's 3-pointer before an 8-0 Arizona run. Auburn forced 13 of Arizona's 19 turnovers in the first half.
Brandon Randolph led the Wildcats with 18 points. Justin Coleman added 16.
The Tigers finished third in the prestigious event by beating Xavier 88-79 in overtime Monday before falling to No. 1 Duke 78-72 on Tuesday.
"Honored to be in this field and this incredible tournament," Pearl said. "And then really proud that you represented. Our fans represented and traveled so well. Our families were here.
"Our kids learned a lot about ourselves and the possibilities for our basketball team. We've got a lot of room to get better. We beat a historic program tonight in Arizona."
After averaging 17.0 points, 6.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds during the week, Jared Harper was named to the Maui Jim Maui Invitational All-Tournament Team. He was joined by Rui Hachimura and Zach Norvell Jr. (Gonzaga), RJ Barrett and Tre Jones (Duke) as well as Justin Coleman (Arizona).
The Tigers (5-1) return to Auburn Arena Wednesday against Saint Peter's at 7 p.m.CT.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Bryce Brown becomes 3-point king as Auburn caps Maui Invitational with win
