AUBURN, Ala. – Miles Kelly swished a second-chance corner 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to give No. 1 Auburn the lead and the top-ranked Tigers ended the game on a 6-0 run to defeat No. 6 Tennessee 53-51 Saturday at Neville Arena.
“We can play better, and we still were able to beat a great team,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “We’ve won four of the last six games in the last possession. It’s going to be a battle every night, but we are happy with this one because that’s a great team.”
Johni Broome returned in a big way, leading Auburn with 16 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots in 33 minutes. Chaney Johnson added 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
“It felt amazing to compete with my brothers and be back on the court with them,” said Broome, who missed two games with an ankle injury. “I always want to be out there to help them win, help them grind it out. It was a rough one but we got it done.”
Chaz Lanier’s transition 3-pointer started a 6-0 Tennessee run that gave the Volunteers a four-point lead with 2:07 to play.
Tahaad Pettiford’s floater pulled the Tigers within two with 1:46 remaining, then Auburn forced a turnover and a missed shot on successive Tennessee possessions.
The Volunteers blocked Broome’s shot, but the All-American got the rebound and passed to Kelly in the corner for a 3 that brought the crowd to its feet with a decibel level that rivals any in the venue’s history.
“I was backing up to the 3-point line. He saw me and threw it to me,” Kelly said. “As soon as it left my hands, I knew it was good. Those are the moments I live for.”
Auburn got another stop, and Broome grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 13.7 seconds remaining. Tennessee fouled Pettiford, who made one of two free throws for a two-point Auburn lead with 12.7 to play.
After a Tennessee timeout, Zakei Zeigler missed a go-ahead corner 3-pointer with 5 seconds left, and Broome rebounded to secure Auburn’s 11th straight victory.
“What Johni did with his rehab all week to be able to come out and affect winning so much,” Pearl said. “All he cared about was winning. As a leader, it’s another statement.”
Leading by two at the half, Broome scored Auburn’s first four points of the second half before Tennessee claimed the lead with a 6-0 run.
Pettiford scored five consecutive Auburn points on a pair of drives and a free throw to put Auburn ahead 31-30. The freshman scored all eight of his points in the second half, making 3 of 4 shots.
“He lives for the moment,” Broome said of Pettiford. “He made a couple buckets when we needed a bucket. It shows his character as a freshman. We rely on him at times and he delivered for us. We need everybody on the team and he’s a big part of this team.”
Kelly broke a 40-40 tie with Auburn’s second 3-pointer of the game, but Tennessee answered less than a minute later with a 3-pointer that tied the score at 45-45 with 4:43 remaining.
“A high-level game,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “Both teams played extremely hard both ways. We battled a great basketball team, a team that’s extremely well coached.”
Broome checked in for the first time to a big ovation at the 17:19 mark of the first half.
In the face of suffocating defense from both teams, Auburn and Tennessee combined to miss 20 of the 21 3-pointers attempted in the first half.
Broome’s corner 3 broke a 10-10, then Chad Baker-Mazara made three free throws after drawing a foul to put the Tigers ahead by six with 7:38 to play.
A 6-0 Tennessee run erased Auburn’s lead but Dylan Cardwell and Baker-Mazara each made a pair of free throws to give Auburn a 22-20 halftime lead despite shooing 21.9 percent in the half.
Auburn (18-1, 6-0) returns to the road at LSU Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on SEC Network and the Auburn Sports Network.
“The big key is you can’t get too high or too low,” Pearl said. “We’ve got to get better. I’ve got to do a better job. The book is out on everybody. What’s Plan B? What’s Plan C? We’ve got to come up with it.”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer