Broome leads No. 4 Auburn past No. 12 UNC, Tigers advance to Maui Invitational final

LAHAINA, Hawaii – Johni Broome recorded a double-double in the first half and No. 4 Auburn never trailed against No. 12 North Carolina, beating the Tar Heels 85-72 Tuesday to advance to the championship game at the Maui Invitational. 

“Our guys started both halves extremely well. Johni Broome was dominant,” said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, whose team takes on Memphis fewer than 16 hours after defeating the Tar Heels. “Denver Jones continues to lead our guards with his defense. He’s one of the best defensive guards in the country. We’re going to need all that tomorrow against Memphis.”

Broome recorded his fourth consecutive double-double and second in two days, scoring 23 points and grabbing 19 rebounds, adding a game-high five assists and three blocked shots.

“We bounced back today, I gave it my all and we came out victorious,” said Broome, who scored the game-winning basket for Auburn Monday night against Iowa State in the first round.

Six Tigers scored in double figures with Miles Kelly scoring 15 points, Chad Baker-Mazara scoring 14, Chaney Johnson adding 11 and Denver Jones and Tahaad Pettiford each chipping in 10 points.

Broome scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the first half, making 8 of 13 shots and hitting 2 of 3 3-pointers. 

“Doing whatever it takes to win. I had to spark my team,” Broome said. “I had to come out and give a spark early. I know Carolina is a great team.”

Leading by eight at the half, Auburn used 3-pointers from Kelly, Jones and Baker-Mazara to extend its lead to 18, forcing a UNC timeout fewer than three minutes into the second half. 

The Tigers pushed their lead to 19 points on Pettiford’s 3-pointer with 8:05 to play and maintained a double-digit lead until a UNC 3-pointer with 3:17 to play trimmed the Tigers’ lead to nine before Jones answered with a 3 for Auburn. 

“We knew we had to keep going and not stop, because they’re a great second half team,” Broome said. 

The Tigers led by 15 just 5:20 into the game on Johnson’s layup before the Tar Heels used an 11-0 run to get within two points midway through the half.

Broome’s layup with 14 seconds remaining gave Auburn a 40-32 halftime lead. 

The Tigers (6-0) take on unbeaten Memphis Wednesday at 4 p.m. CT on ESPN and the Auburn Sports Network from Lahaina Civic Center.  Memphis advanced to the title game by beating Michigan State 71-63 earlier Tuesday.

“This is a huge win,” Pearl said. “We’re trying to get our kids back to the hotel tonight because Memphis is as quick, fast and athletic as any team we’re going to play. Fatigue is going to be a factor. Now we have a chance to get a championship. It’s going to take an unbelievable effort. It should be a great matchup.” 

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

POSTGAME NOTES

• For the fourth-straight game, Auburn went with the starting lineup of Denver Jones, Miles Kelly, Chad Baker-Mazara, Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell.
• With the win, Auburn improved to 4-1 in two all-time appearances in the Maui Invitational and advanced to the finals for the first time with an 85-72 victory over No. 12 North Carolina.
• AU has won both games against North Carolina under head coach Bruce Pearl after the fifth-seeded Tigers defeated the top-seeded Tar Heels, 97-80, in the 2019 Midwest Regional Semifinals. It was the second-straight game in the series to beat UNC by double figures (+13).
• The win was Auburn’s third victory over a ranked opponent this season after the Tigers defeated fourth-ranked Houston, 74-69, on Nov. 9 and No. 5 Iowa State, 83-81, in the quarterfinals of the Maui Invitational on Monday. 
• Auburn is off to a 6-0 start for the third time under head coach Bruce Pearl after starting 15-0 in 2019-20 and 8-0 in 2022-23.
• The win marked Coach Pearl’s 206th victory in his 11 seasons at Auburn, putting him seven wins behind Joel Eaves, who won 213 games 14 seasons as the Tigers’ head coach, for the most career coaching wins in program history.   
• Auburn matched its season high with seven blocked shots, which the Tigers previously did against Vermont and No. 4 Houston. Johni Broome led Auburn with three blocks, while Dylan Cardwell and Chaney Johnson each added a pair of blocks.
• Cardwell played in his 134th career game, tying Frankie Sullivan for second in program history.
• The Tigers placed six players in double figures for the first time since doing so last season against Indiana. 
• Broome recorded a game-and team-high 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting including 2-of-4 from long range and 3-of-4 from the foul line. He added a career-high 19 rebounds, five assists and three blocks against the Tar Heels. It was Broome’s third-straight game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. He turned in his 64th career double-double before halftime with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the first half. Broome finished the night with 1,167 career points during his time on The Plains, passing Korvotney Barber for 29th on Auburn’s career scoring list.
• Miles Kelly scored 15 points for the third-straight game against North Carolina after reaching the mark in each of the last two seasons against the Tar Heels while playing for Georgia Tech. Kelly, who scored 12 points in the second half, was 5-of-10 from the floor and 3-of-7 from 3-point range and pulled down two rebounds in the victory. It marked his fourth game in double figures this season and third straight. His three 3-pointers give him 200 three-point field goals in his career and are his most since making seven 3-point field goals in the season opener against Vermont.
• Chad Baker-Mazara recorded his fourth-straight game in double figures and his fifth of the season with 14 points on 4-of-8 field goals including a pair of 3-pointers and going a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. He also added seven rebounds and a steal versus UNC.
• Chaney Johnson came off the bench and scored in double figures for the fourth time this season with 11 points on 5-of-10 field goals. He added eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots on the night.
• Denver Jones and Tahaad Pettiford each added 10 points in the win over North Carolina.  Jones, playing in his 100th career game, made a pair of three pointers and added three assists and two steals against the Tar Heels. It was Jones’ fourth-straight game in double figures and his fifth of the season.
• Pettiford made a pair of 3-pointers and added three assists, two rebounds and one steal to the winning cause. The freshman is averaging 15.0 points per game and shooting 50.0 percent from long range in Auburn’s three wins over ranked opponents.