No. 4 Auburn blasts UNA 102-69 behind Broome's big game

AUBURN, Ala. – North Alabama brought quickness and determination to Neville Arena Monday but the Lions had no answer for Johni Broome.

Auburn’s All-American scored 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the No. 4 Tigers to a 102-69 victory.

“I walk into every game looking to take over,” Broome said, “and put my stamp on the game. Today it was scoring and rebounding. I thought my team needed it in those moments, so I did it.”

“We had a huge advantage on the inside and it took us a while to get there,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “Johni Broome proved he’s an All-American.”

Leading by 13 at the half, Auburn steadily expanded its lead throughout the second half, reaching the century mark in the final minute on walk-on CJ Williams’ jumper to the delight of Auburn’s bench. 

“It’s fun watching those guys come in and get buckets in a real game because they do it in practice all the time,” Broome said. “It was good watching those guys score and make an impact on the game.”

Broome made 13 of 17 shots and fellow big man Dylan Cardwell added a dozen points on 5-for-6 shooting, giving Auburn 42 points from its centers on 78.2-percent shooting in a combined 49 minutes. 

“It’s fun playing with Dylan,” Broome said. “Dylan’s like a brother to me. I love to see him do well. It was fun to see him get lobs and play with that energy.”

“Johni and Dylan are two of the best centers in college basketball,” Pearl said. “We’ve got both of them.”

Five Tigers scored in double figures with Denver Jones scoring 13 points and distributing a career-high nine assists. 

“I was able to find guys, find shooters,” said Jones, who added minutes at point guard this season after primarily playing shooting guard a year ago. “It’s been a little bit of an adjustment, working all summer. Coach Ira Bowman aways stresses being aggressive like I’m playing off ball. Continue to look for your shot and everything else will take care of itself.”

Chad Baker-Mazara and Miles Kelly each added 12 points.

Chaney Johnson continued his exceptional shooting, scoring eight points and making 4 of 6 shots. He’s shooting 67.7 percent (21 for 31) through Auburn’s first four games. 

Baker-Mazara and Jones each hit a pair of 3-pointers to help Auburn grab an early lead. 

North Alabama did more than just hang around. The Lions made four consecutive shots and took a 33-32 lead on a 3-pointer with 5:12 remaining in the half.

“They played us very close in the first 16 minutes of the game,” Pearl said. “We’re hard to come back at because of the pace of play and how hard they had to work to get open.”

Broome answered with 11 consecutive Auburn points before and after UNA’s 7-0 run to help the Tigers take a 50-37 halftime lead. 

“My teammates were getting me the ball,” Broome said. “My coaches called the right play calls to get me the looks to score, and I just delivered.”

Broome scored all six of Auburn’s points during a 6-0 run over the last 1:03 of the half to help the Tigers take a 50-37 halftime lead. 

Broome had 17 points and seven rebounds in the first half, adding 13 points and 10 rebounds after intermission.

Auburn (4-0) heads to Hawaii next week to play three games in three days in the Maui Invitational, beginning Monday, Nov. 25 against No. 5 Iowa State at 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU and the Auburn Sports Network. 

“The next four games are going to be against Elite Eight-caliber teams,” Pearl said. “It’ll be a true test, a true measure of where we’re at.”

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

POSTGAME NOTES

• For the second-straight game, Auburn went with the starting lineup of Denver Jones, Miles Kelly, Chad Baker-Mazara, Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell. Jones, Baker-Mazara, Broome and Cardwell have started all four games this season. 
• With the win, Auburn now leads 6-0 in the all-time series with North Alabama. All six games have been played in Auburn.
• Auburn is off to a 4-0 start for the fifth time in the last nine seasons. Prior to the last nine seasons, the Tigers had not won their first four games since starting 4-0 in 2011-12.
• Tonight marked the 58th-consecutive sellout crowd at Neville Arena (9,121).
• AU has now won 57-consecutive non-conference home games.
• The win marked Bruce Pearl’s 204th victory as Auburn’s head coach, putting him nine wins behind Joel Eaves, who won 213 games in 14 seasons at Auburn, for the most head coaching victories in program history.
• Auburn’s 102-point outburst was the Tigers most points since they scored 104 points against Indiana last season on Dec. 9, 2023 as part of Holiday Hoopsgiving in Atlanta. The Tigers’ 50-point first half was their highest-scoring first half since registering 50 points against South Carolina last season on Feb. 14.
• The Tigers shot a season-best 61.9 percent (39-of-63) from the field. It was the team’s best shooting effort since shooting 62.1 percent at Georgia last season.
• Auburn went 12-of-27 from 3-point range against the Lions. It was the second time the Tigers have hit double-digit 3-pointers this season and the first since making 16 shots from long range in the season opener against Vermont.
• The Tigers recorded 25 assists on 39 made field goals, which is the most assists in a single game since they dished out 29 assists versus Georgia last season. Nine players recorded an assist for Auburn in the win.
• Auburn recorded season highs scoring 26 points off 13 North Alabama turnovers and scoring 50 points in the paint. It surpassed the Tigers’ 25 points off turnovers against Vermont in the season opener and their 42 points in the paint against Kent State.  
• AU placed five players in double figures for the second time this season and the first time since the season opener against the Catamounts.
• Johni Broome led the Tigers with an Auburn-career-high-tying 30 points, 17 rebounds, which was one rebound off his overall collegiate career high, three blocks and one assist. Broome scored 17 points in the first half, which was the most points he has scored before halftime at Auburn, topping the 16 points he scored in the first half vs. Virginia Tech and at Alabama last year.
• Broome went 13-of-17 from the floor including one 3-pointer on the night. He became the 31st player in Auburn history to reach 1,100 career points, finishing the night with 1,123 points. It was his second career game at Auburn with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds after his 30-point, 13-rebound effort against Virginia Tech last season in the SEC/ACC Challenge. Broome has 169 blocks in his Auburn career, which puts him one blocked shot behind Horace Spencer for fourth on the Tigers’ career blocks leaderboard. 
• Chad Baker-Mazara and Denver Jones each scored in double figures for the third time in four games this season. Jones chipped in with 13 points on 4-of-6 field goals, 3-of-5 from long range and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line to go with a career-high nine assists and two steals. Baker-Mazara finished with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. He added two rebounds, two assists and one steal.  
• Dylan Cardwell tied his career high with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting against North Alabama. He also added three rebounds, two assists and one block on the night. 
• Miles Kelly scored in double figures for the second time this season with 12 points against North Alabama, including a pair of 3-pointers, to go with three rebounds, three assists and one block.