Broome, Johnson lead No. 5 Auburn over Kent State

AUBURN, Ala. – Johni Broome and Chaney Johnson each scored 18 points – the most the latter has totaled in two seasons on the Plains – to lead No. 5 Auburn past Kent State 79-56 Wednesday at Neville Arena.

“We beat a good Kent State team,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “We did not have a letdown after the big victory on Saturday.”

In Auburn’s first three games, Johnson is shooting 68 percent (18 for 25) after going 8-for-11 against the Golden Flashes, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range.   
                
“My teammates are trusting me, Coach Pearl is getting me the ball in the right spots and I’m just making shots,” Johnson said. “I did come in with a bigger chip on my shoulder because I knew I was going to have to take the spot that J-Will (Jaylin Williams) filled so well. Trusting in my work and playing with more confidence.”

Broome recorded a double-double, adding 12 rebounds along with three blocked shots. Auburn’s big men – Broome, Johnson and Dylan Cardwell – shared the game’s assist high with Tahaad Pettiford with four each.  

“It goes back to us being unselfish and believing in our teammates,” said Broome, whose first double-double of the season was his 25th at Auburn. “We took what the defense gave us and were able to make inside-out plays.”

Leading by 14 at the half, Auburn saw Kent State cut the Tigers’ advantage to four early in the second half before Broome scored six points in an 8-0 run that restored the lead to double digits. 

Scoreless in the first half while plagued by foul trouble, Pettiford scored seven points in two and a half minutes to help Auburn lead by 15 midway through the second half. 

After Kent State got back within 10, Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 7:33 to play and Auburn never led by fewer than 11 the rest of the way. The Tigers made four of their last five shots to win by 23 points.

JP Pegues lobbed to Johnson for a dunk with 11 seconds left in the half to give Auburn a 36-22 halftime lead. 

“Chaney’s our hardest worker,” Pearl said. “He’s in the gym all the time. He likes to work out. (Assistant coach) Ira Bowman is in the gym with him every day. He doesn’t know any other way. His confidence is up and his teammates believe in him.”

Auburn scored the game’s first 12 points and built a 22-point lead on Chad Baker-Mazara’s layup with 7:10 to play in the half before a 12-0 Kent State run trimmed the Tigers’ lead to 10 points.

Johnson scored 11 points in the first half while Baker-Mazara scored nine of his 12 points before intermission. Broome scored 12 second-half points and Denver Jones scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half. 

Auburn outrebounded Kent State 41-33 and had a 23:6 assist-to-turnover ratio while holding the visitors to only five assists.

Auburn (3-0) remains at Neville Arena Monday against North Alabama at 8 p.m. CT.

“The kids get the day off tomorrow and we’ll get back into the gym on Friday,” Pearl said. 

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer

POSTGAME NOTES

• For the first time this season, Auburn went with the starting five of Denver Jones, Miles Kelly, Chad Baker-Mazara, Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell. It was Kelly’s first career start in an Auburn uniform.
• All nine players who played in the game for Auburn scored at least two points.
• Chaney Johnson registered his third-straight game in double figures to open the season with an Auburn career-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor and 2-of-3 from long range, which matches his double-figure games from all of last season, to go with five rebounds, four assists and two blocks against the Golden Flashes. Johnson moved past the 1,400-point mark for his career in the win as he ended the game with 1,403 points.
• Johni Broome recorded his 61st career double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds versus Kent State. He went 8-of-12 on field goals, while also adding four assists and three blocks on the night. Broome has blocked 10 shots in the first three games of the season including eight in the last two games.
• Denver Jones recorded his second game in double figures on the season with 12 points including a pair of 3-pointers and a 4-of-4 effort from the free-throw line against Kent State. He added three rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal in the win. Jones ended the night with 1,303 career points to date.
• Chad Baker-Mazara chipped in 12 points including 6-of-8 from the free-throw line. He also finished with two rebounds, two steals and one assist against the Golden Flashes.
• Auburn registered a season-high 23 assists on 28 made baskets against Kent State. The Tigers’ previous season high was 15 assists against Vermont. Eight players recorded an assist for Auburn in the win.
• AU committed a season-low six turnovers, besting the Tigers’ nine turnovers against Vermont.
• The Tigers scored a season-high 42 points in the paint after scoring 36 points in the paint in each of the first two games of the season.
• Auburn held Kent State to 32.8 percent shooting including 5-of-21 (23.8 percent) from 3-point range. The Tigers have held their first three opponents to 26.3 percent shooting from long range.
• AU has started the season 3-0 for the sixth time in the last nine seasons. Prior to that, the Tigers had one such start in the previous nine seasons combined.
• The win marked Bruce Pearl’s 203rd career victory as Auburn’s head coach putting him 10 wins behind Joel Eaves, who won 213 games in 14 seasons at Auburn, for the most head coaching victories in program history.
• The win also marked Auburn’s 56th-consecutive non-conference home win.
• The Tigers played in front of their 57th-consecutive sellout crowd at Neville Arena (9,121).