AUBURN, Ala. – Johni Broome hit a career-best trio of 3-pointers and logged his sixth double-double of the season to lead No. 25 Auburn to an 88-68 win over Penn Tuesday at Neville Arena, the Tigers' sixth straight victory.
"It felt good to see the first one go in," said Broome, whose most recent 3-pointer came against Notre Dame on Nov. 16. "A lot of credit goes to my teammates and my coaches. They still believe in me to give me those shots."
Broome missed only one shot while scoring 24 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, adding two assists, three blocked shots and a steal to help Auburn tune up for SEC play with its 52nd consecutive non-conference win under Bruce Pearl.
"Johni Broome dominated in there. He got clean looks tonight and he took them in rhythm. We're going to go as far as he takes us, on and off the court as a leader," Pearl said. "We shared it and we took care of business."
Chad Baker-Mazara scored a season-high 16 points, Denver Jones added 12 and K.D. Johnson scored 11.
"We have multiple guys who can change the game for us," Broome said of Baker-Mazara's role in Auburn's 39-16 advantage in bench points. "It brings a spark to the team."
Leading 51-32 after a hot-shooting first half, Auburn saw Penn shave 10 points off its lead before the Tigers regained momentum on back-to-back layups by Johnson, who added five rebounds and four assists with no turnovers.
"This was one of K.D. Johnson's best games because he did it at both ends of the floor," Pearl said.
"Our depth is going to be the key to our success this year," Jones said. "In the second half when we came out slow, we put our second group in and they turned us right back around and put the lead back up."
Auburn's backcourt quartet – Johnson, Jones Tre Donaldson and Aden Holloway – combined for only one turnover and 14 assists, including Holloway's team-high six.
The Tigers scored the game's first 11 points thanks to three 3-pointers including two from Broome. After the Quakers pulled within four points, Auburn reeled off another 11-0 run that featured 3-pointers from Johnson, Donaldson and Jaylin Williams.
Broome and Jones each scored 12 points in a first half that saw Auburn hit 10 of 18 3-point attempts. Broome enjoyed a perfect shooting half, hitting all four of his shots including a pair of 3-pointers and two free throws.
Auburn continued a season-long theme of valuing possessions and sharing the ball, producing 19 assists to only six turnovers.
Auburn (11-2) tips off SEC play Saturday at Arkansas at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN2 and the Auburn Sports Network.
"Last time we were at Arkansas, they stormed the court when we were No. 1 in the country," Pearl said, previewing Auburn's first two conference games vs. the Razorbacks and home next Tuesday against Texas A&M. "It'll be everything we want and then some. It's not the easiest way to start the conference but we're playing well right now."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
PENN POSTGAME NOTES
» Auburn extended its winning streak to a season-best six games, surpassing its five-game winning streak from Nov. 10-29. It marked the Tigers' longest winning streak since winning the first eight games of last season.
» Auburn heads into SEC play with an 11-2 record – the fifth time in the last seven seasons the Tigers have entered conference play with at least 11 victories.
» AU has now won 52 consecutive games against non-conference opponents at Neville Arena and the Tigers are 95-25 in regular-season non-conference games under head coach Bruce Pearl.
» Tonight marked the 46th consecutive sellout at Neville Arena (9,121).
» Auburn recorded its second 50-point half of the season on Tuesday night. The Tigers' 51 first-half points are one off their season high of 52 points in the first half against Indiana.
» Auburn made 12 3-point field goals on the night including a season-high 10 3-pointers in the first half. The Tigers' previous season high for 3-pointers in the first half was seven against St. Bonaventure. It marked the sixth time the Tigers have made double-digit 3-pointers in the first half under head coach Bruce Pearl. AU has four games with double-digit 3-pointers this season including the last two where the Tigers have made 23 combined 3-point field goals.
» After shooting 14-of-18 from the free throw line against Penn, Auburn has now shot 80.1 percent (113-of-141) from the foul line over the last six games.
» Auburn committed only six turnovers on the night. It was the Tigers' sixth game with single-digit turnovers in the last eight contests. Over the stretch, Auburn has averaged 8.6 turnovers per game.
» Auburn went with the starting lineup of Aden Holloway, Denver Jones, Jaylin Williams, Johni Broome and Chris Moore for the eighth straight game. That group is 9-1 as a starting unit this season. Williams and Moore remain the only Tigers to start every game this season.
» Johni Broome recorded his sixth double-double of the season and the 52nd of his career with 24 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the floor, a career high three 3-pointers on four attempts and 3-of-4 from the foul line and 12 rebounds. He scored 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the floor, 2-of-2 from long range and 2-of-2 from the free throw line in the first half. Broome has scored 26 points in the first half over the last two games after scoring 14 points in the first half against Chattanooga. Over the last three games, he is averaging 19.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game. During the stretch, Broome is shooting 23-of-31 (74.2 pct.) from the floor.
» Chad Baker-Mazara scored a season-high 16 points on 5-of-10 field goals, 1-of-3 from long range and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line in the win over Penn.
» Denver Jones recorded his fifth game in double figures of the season and the 51st of his career with 12 points including a pair of 3-pointers on the night.
» K.D. Johnson finished the night with 11 points on 3-of-6 field goals, including one 3-pointer, and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line, five rebounds, four assists and one steal. It was Johnson's fourth game in double figures this season and the 55th of his career.
» Aden Holloway tied his career high with six assists and only had one turnover in the win.