Broome's double-double leads No. 1 Auburn over LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. – Delivering another player of the year performance, Johni Broome led No. 1 Auburn to an 87-74 win over LSU Wednesday at Maravich Center, the Tigers’ 12th consecutive victory.

“It’s a Quad-1 win,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “That’s a great win for our ballclub. That’s a good LSU team. We grinded it out. We’ve got to play better if we’re going to keep winning. It’s tough to win on the road. Very happy with the win.”

Broome recorded with 12th double-double of the season, pouring in 20 of his 26 points in the second half, while grabbing 16 rebounds and adding three blocked shots and a steal to help Auburn improve to 7-0 in SEC play with its fourth conference road win.

“My teammates had my back,” said Broome, who helped Auburn outrebound LSU 47-34. “That’s what my teammates depend on me and count on me for, to close possessions like that.”

“We went to him, and he finished everything,” Pearl said. “Over time our physicality wore them down. Johni was dominant again, particularly in the second half. When everybody was fatigued, Johni’s physicality took over.”

Miles Kelly scored 13 points, Chad Baker-Mazara scored 11 points and led Auburn with seven assists, and Tahaad Pettiford added 10 points.

Ja’Heim Hudson was big off the bench, scoring seven points on 3-for-3 shooting, including a 3-pointer, while adding two rebounds and an assist.

“I’ve been staying right and staying ready, as BP says,” Hudson said. “Staying in the gym, staying locked in. I can shoot it. I’ve been staying confident and today it showed.”

Leading by 12 at the half, Denver Jones opened the second half with a 3-pointer that put Auburn ahead by 15. 

Hudson stopped a 5-0 LSU run with his 3-pointer, but the Bengal Tigers responded with a 7-0 run to pull within five points, forcing an Auburn timeout with 12:59 to play. 

Pettiford answered with a 3-pointer and the Bengals Tigers would get no closer than six over the final 12 minutes. 

Limited by foul trouble in the first half, Chaney Johnson hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second half, helping Auburn’s power forwards go 3-for-3 from long range in the half to preserve the Tigers’ lead. 

“Tremendous,” Pearl said of Johnson and Hudson’s contributions. “When our 4-men start making those shots, what we do offensively is going to look even better.”

Auburn forced 15 first-half turnovers on its way to a 41-29 halftime lead, thanks to 11 steals and a 12-0 run that erased LSU’s early lead.

“We knew we needed to turn them over,” said Pearl, whose team finished with 22 points off 20 LSU turnovers. “We were aggressive without fouling.” 

Kelly led the visiting Tigers with 10 points in the half, making 2 of 5 3-pointers. Baker-Mazara added nine points and four assists in the opening half. 

Auburn outrebounded LSU 24-17 in the half, including 15 offensive rebounds, yet totaled only two second-chance points. 

Auburn (19-1, 7-0) remains on the road Saturday, travelling to Oxford, Mississippi, to play No. 23 Ole Miss at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN and the Auburn Sports Network.

“It’ll be one of the biggest tickets in that building’s history,” Pearl said. “This league is such a grind. The pieces are there for us to make a run. We’ve got to stay healthy and defend without fouling.”

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

POSTGAME NOTES

• Auburn improves to 19-1 on the season, matching the best 20-game start in program history. The Tigers also started 19-1 during the 2021-22, 1998-99, 1958-59 and 1927-28 seasons.
• With the win, Auburn extended its win streak to 12 games. It marked the fifth time the Tigers have won at least 12-straight games under head coach Bruce Pearl and the first time since winning 19-straight contests during the 2021-22 season.
• Auburn remains the only unbeaten team in SEC play at 7-0 including a 4-0 mark on the road. The Tigers improve upon their best start in conference play since opening SEC play 10-0 in 2022. Auburn also won a program-best 11-straight games to open SEC play in 1959.
• Auburn has now won four straight over LSU (all by at least 13 points). The Tigers are also 6-5 in their last 11 trips to Baton Rouge.
• Coach Pearl is 13-7 against LSU in his head coaching career including 8-4 while coaching Auburn. He is now 5-3 in Baton Rouge including 3-2 coaching Auburn. 
• Auburn went with the starting lineup of Denver Jones, Miles Kelly, Chad Baker-Mazara, Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell. The group started 14-straight games before Broome missed two games after being injured at South Carolina and coming off the bench in his return against Tennessee on Saturday. Jones, Baker-Mazara and Cardwell have started all 20 games this season.
• AU forced a season-high-tying 20 turnovers (Georgia State) leading to 22 points off those turnovers. It was the ninth time the Tigers have scored at least 20 points off turnovers this season.
• Auburn recorded 15 steals – the most since registering 15 steals against LSU last season.
• The Tigers held its fourth-straight opponent (and fifth in SEC play) to under 30 points in the first half – 29 at LSU, 20 vs. Tennessee, 27 at Georgia, 27 vs. Mississippi State and 27 at Texas.
• Auburn outrebounded LSU, 47-34, including a season-best 25 offensive boards, which led to 20 second-chance points, two off the Tigers’ season high of 22 second-chance points against Richmond. Their +13 rebounding margin was also a season high.
• Auburn outscored LSU, 40-28, in the paint. It was the seventh time the Tigers have scored at least 40 points in the paint this season. The +12 in the paint points is a season high in an SEC game.
• Broome led four players in double figures for Auburn recording his 72nd career double-double with 26 points, including 20 points in the second half, and 16 rebounds to go with three blocks and one steal at LSU. It marked his 11th 20-point game of the season including his fifth with at least 20 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.
• Miles Kelly scored 13 points and added three rebounds, a career-high-tying three steals and one assist at LSU. He made a pair of 3-pointers, his 12th game of the season with multiple 3-point field goals. It was his 61st career game in double figures including 11 this season.
• Chad Baker-Mazara finished the night with 11 points to go with a career-high seven assists, three steals, two rebounds and one block at LSU. It marked his 47th career game in double figures including 15 this season.
• Freshman Tahaad Pettiford scored in double figures for the 12th time in his first 20 career games including the sixth time in seven SEC games. He scored 10 points, pulled down three rebounds and dished out two assists in Auburn’s win at LSU.
• Ja’Heim Hudson scored a season-high seven points off the bench on 3-of-3 field goals, including 1-of-1 from beyond the arc, to go with two rebounds and an assist in nine minutes against the Tigers.
• Denver Jones recorded a career-high-tying four steals, which is one off the most by a Tiger in Coach Pearl’s 11 seasons at Auburn.