AUBURN, Ala. – From a statistical standpoint, Johni Broome led Auburn in Friday night's 86-71 win over Southeastern Louisiana. He finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. But from a historical standpoint, it was Jaylin Williams who had the most memorable night in Neville Arena.
Williams earned his 88th career win at Auburn, becoming the winningest player in program history. He passed Allen Flanigan, Anfernee McLemore and Scott Pohlman.
"It feels amazing to represent the last name on the back of my jersey and my family," said Williams who scored nine points. "If it weren't for these guys (my teammates the last five years), it wouldn't have happened. Shoutout to my team and my coaching staff for believing in us as a team."
"That's a pretty cool thing," head coach Bruce Pearl said. "To be the all-time winningest player. And then he's going to have a chance to add to that this year. That's the first thing I did when I went into the locker room tonight is congratulate Jaylin for that."
Pearl made history of his own Friday night as he moved into third place all-time at Auburn with 174 career wins, surpassing Sonny Smith.
On the court, it was Broome who paced the Tigers. It was his second double-double of the season and the 47th of his career. He scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half and knocked down his only 3-point attempt down the stretch to help the Tigers pull away.
"I was just sticking to the game plan (in the second half)," Broome said. "I allowed my coaches and my teammates to make plays for me and just executed when I got the ball."
Broome was one of four Auburn players to score in double figures Friday night.
K.D. Johnson, Aden Holloway and Chad Baker-Mazara all had 10 or more points off the bench, once again showing the depth that the Tigers have this year.
Johnson was a catalyst early. After a slow start, he checked in and converted a tough and-1 inside. He got a steal on the next possession and then got the ball back and buried a 3 to give Auburn six quick points to make it 12-4. He scored a team-high 10 points in the first half and added another 3-pointer in the second half to finish with 13.
"I thought K.D. was terrific," Pearl said. "I thought K.D. played one of his better games. I thought he was really locked in, got downhill and shot the 3-ball."
Holloway, playing in his first game in Neville Arena, missed his first three shots. But the freshman responded with a pair of 3-pointers and a lay-up over a two-minute span late in the first half. He had 11 points on the night and no turnovers.
Baker-Mazara finished with 12 points and pulled down six rebounds. He also knocked down a 3 as seven different Tigers connected from long range against Southeastern.
Fellow newcomer Chaney Johnson matched Broome with a team-high 11 rebounds, including seven offensive rebounds. As a team, Auburn outrebounded the Lions 46-33 and blocked seven shots with two each coming from Williams and Broome.
At the half, the Tigers led 39-28.
Friday's game was the 2023-24 home opener for Auburn who made it 46 consecutive wins over a non-conference opponent at home – a streak that dates back to 2015. It was also the 40th consecutive sellout at Neville Arena (9,121).
The Tigers will be back on the road next week when they travel to Brooklyn for the Legends Classic. First up is a matchup against Notre Dame on Thursday, Nov. 16. The tournament field also features Oklahoma State and St. Bonaventure.
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA NOTES
>> Auburn improves to 5-0 all-time against Southeastern Louisiana.
>> The Tigers played in front of their 40th-consecutive sellout crowd (9,121) at Neville Arena.
>> It marked Auburn's 46th-consecutive win over a non-conference opponent at Neville Arena.
>> The win was Bruce Pearl's 174th victory at Auburn, moving him past Sonny Smith, who coached the Tigers from 1978-1989, into third alone on the school's all-time coaching wins list. Joel Eaves, who won 213 games from 1949-63, is first and Cliff Ellis is in second with 186 victories from 1994-2004.
>> With the win, graduate senior Jaylin Williams became the winningest player in program history with his 88th career victory, breaking a tie with Allen Flanigan, Anfernee McLemore and Scott Pohlman.
>> Ten Tigers have now scored in each of the first two games (Baylor and SE Louisiana) of the season.
>> Auburn's bench scored 46 of the Tigers' 86 points against Southeastern Louisiana and the Tigers' reserves have totaled 85 points in the first two games of the season after finishing with 39 points in the season opener against Baylor.
>> Senior K.D. Johnson scored 13 points and added three assists, two steals and two rebounds off the bench in the win over Southeastern Louisiana including 10 points in the first half. It was Johnson's 52nd career game scoring in double figures including his 40th in an Auburn uniform.
>> Freshman Aden Holloway recorded his second-straight double-figure scoring game to begin his career finishing with 11 points and three assists versus the Lions. Holloway made 3-of-8 3-pointers in the ballgame. He is averaging 15.0 points on 7-of-16 from long range in his first two career games.
>> Junior big man Johni Broome scored a team-high 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to record his 48th career double-double including 12 at Auburn and both games this season. Broome made his only 3-point attempt on the night and is shooting 47.4 percent from long range over his last 10 games dating back to last season including 3-of-4 this season.
