AUBURN, Ala. – Denver Jones made seven 3-pointers and No. 13 Auburn recorded assists on nearly 90 percent of its baskets Saturday in the Tigers' 92-78 victory over Georgia on Senior Night at Neville Arena to sweep the season series and secure a double-bye at next week's SEC Tournament.
"It was a good win," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "We shared the ball. We're a hard team to scout because we've got so many guys who can shoot it and make plays."
Leading by 14 at the half, Jones made three quick 3-pointers to put Auburn ahead 56-36 with 16:15 to play. Georgia never got closer than 12 the rest of the game. Jones made 7 of 10 3-pointers to lead Auburn with 21 points.
"The movement, taking the open shot when I get it and shooting with confidence," Jones said. "It's time for everybody to start getting hot in March, playing with more confidence, taking open shots and knocking them down."
Johni Broome scored 14 points, Jaylin Williams scored 13 and Dylan Cardwell added 10. Broome and Chaney Johnson led Auburn with five assists each. The Tigers tallied 29 assists on 33 field goals.
"I'm not so sure there's a better front line in the SEC," Pearl said of Auburn forwards Williams and Johnson, and centers Broome and Cardwell. "We don't drop off. I'm hoping that physicality, energy and effort will pay off for us. I'm very proud of those guys."
Williams made it poster night on the Plains, receiving a transition pass from Chris Moore after Moore's steal, dunking over a Georgia defender and drawing a foul to the delight of the home crowd.
Moore's pass was Auburn's 10th assist on 11 field goals, giving all 10 players an assist and giving Auburn a 28-14 lead.
"Assists are fun. They usually lead to a 3-ball or a crazy dunk," Williams said. "When you get everyone involved, it's fun. That's Auburn basketball."
Williams ended the half with another fastbreak dunk after Broome rebounded a missed free throw with four seconds left and passed across halfcourt to Chad Baker-Mazara, who found Williams for the buzzer-beating slam.
"I saw Johni get the rebound and I just took off," Williams said. "Then I saw that Chad had it. He threw it to me and I dunked it."
Jones led Auburn with nine first-half points, making 3 of 5 3-pointers to help the Tigers lead 45-31 at intermission.
"Denver's locked in defensively, on the scouting report and his work ethic," Pearl said. "He's being rewarded because he does the right things almost all the time. He's a terrific player."
Auburn recorded 17 assists on 19 first-half makes with only three turnovers, evidence of the Tigers' unselfish play.
Auburn went 15-1 this season at Neville Arena, won by double digits in all 24 of its victories and finished one game behind SEC regular season champion Tennessee in a four-way tied for second place.
Before the game, Auburn honored seniors K.D. Johnson, Cardwell, Moore, Broome, Jalen Harper and Carter Sobera. The Tigers recognized graduate student-athletes Williams and Lior Berman on Senior Night last year before they returned for their fifth seasons.
"It was very emotional," Johnson said of the rousing ovation the seniors received. "I was happy. All the feelings were going through my head but I was focused on the game. I was grateful for the fans cheering me on."
Auburn (24-7, 13-5) heads to Nashville where the Tigers are the No. 4 seed in next week's SEC Tournament and will face either South Carolina, Arkansas or Vanderbilt Friday at 2:30 p.m. CT in the quarterfinals.
"To win 13 games in the league this year is really something," Pearl said. "I'm really grateful to our players and our coaching staff. This league was daunting. Our fans enjoyed this team. I'm very grateful for that."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
GEORGIA POSTGAME NOTES
» Auburn closed out the regular season at 24-7 overall and 13-5 in Southeastern Conference play. It marked the fifth time in the last seven seasons the Tigers have won at least 24 games and the win total is tied for sixth-most in program history. It was also the fifth time Auburn has won at least 13 SEC games in program history including the third time in the last seven seasons.
» The Tigers saw a capacity crowd of 9,121 fans to mark its 55th-consecutive sellout game at Neville Arena. Auburn is now 45-3 over the last seasons at home finishing with a 15-1 mark at Neville Arena.
» All 24 of Auburn's wins have been by at least 11 points. The 24 double-digit wins are second-most in program history, only trailing the 1998-99 Tigers' 26 victories by at least 10 points.
» Auburn improves to 102-97 in the all-time series including 65-25 in games played in Auburn. The Tigers have won 11 of the last 14 overall against the Bulldogs and six of the last seven in Neville Arena. Auburn swept the season series against Georgia for the fourth time since 2018.
» Bruce Pearl is now 23-10 in his coaching career versus Georgia including 13-7 coaching Auburn. The Tigers are 7-3 at Neville Arena against the Bulldogs under Pearl. Pearl is 6-7 against Georgia head coach Mike White including 3-1 in White's two seasons at Georgia.
» Saturday is the seventh time Auburn has scored at least 90 points in an SEC game this season, which is a school record, surpassing the old mark of six 90-point SEC performances in 1971, 1975 and 1976.
» Auburn's 29 assists against Georgia are the most in Bruce Pearl's 10 seasons at Auburn, topping the Tigers' 27 assists against CSUN in 2019. Ten different players recorded an assist against the Bulldogs, led by five from Johni Broome and Chaney Johnson. It was a season high for Johnson.
» AU shot 51.6 percent (33-of-64) from the floor and 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from 3-point range in its win over Georgia. It marked the 10th time the Tigers have shot at least 50 percent from the floor this season including the seventh time in SEC play and the third straight game overall during which the Tigers are shooting 51.4 percent. Auburn shot 56.6 percent in two wins over Georgia this season. It was the 10th time the Tigers have made double-digit 3-pointers this season and the sixth time in league play.
» Auburn outscored Georgia 20-2 on fast-break points. The Tigers are 7-0 this season when they score at least 20 fast-break points.
» Auburn blocked six shots against Georgia, which gives the Tigers 186 blocks on the season, four blocks behind the 2018-19 Tigers for second-most in program history.
» Auburn placed four players in double figures, led by a season-high 21 points by Denver Jones on 7-of-9 3-pointers. Jones added three rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block on the day. His seven 3-point field goals are the most by an Auburn player since Jabari Smith also made seven 3-pointers against Vanderbilt on Feb. 16, 2022.
» Johni Broome recorded his 22nd straight game in double figures with 14 points to go with six rebounds, five assists, two blocks and one steal against UGA. With his two blocked shots, Broome breaks a tie with Mamadou N'diaye to move into sole possession of 10th place on Auburn's single-season blocks list.
» Jaylin Williams scored 13 points on 6-of-10 field goals to go with four assists and two rebounds against Georgia. It was his 62nd career game in double figures, including 20 this season and fourth straight.
» Tre Donaldson turned in his first career 100+ assist season with two assists and one turnover versus UGA.
» Dylan Cardwell scored in double figures for the second straight game with 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor. He also added four assists, three rebounds, one block and one steal in the win. It was the second time in Cardwell's career he has posted consecutive double figure scoring games after doing so at Vanderbilt and against Ole Miss earlier this season.
