Despite a relatively close first half of play, No. 4 Auburn remains undefeated early-on in the season defeating North Alabama 102-69 as it closes out the home slate with the Maui Invitational on deck for the Tigers.
“Our guys respected the opponent. I'm glad we played till the end, and now we've got the next four games against Elite Eight caliber teams, all four. And so it'll be a true test, a true measure of where we're at,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said following the win.
As is the large majority of the sport, the first half was a game of runs for the Lions and Tigers. Auburn had a 10-0 run early followed by a North Alabama 7-0 run of their own all before the Tigers finished the half 18-4, largely in part to Johni Broome, to mount a 13-point halftime lead.
“I walk into every game looking to take over,” Broome said following his performance tonight.
Broome, who didn’t even attempt a shot until 7:55 remaining in the first half, scored 17 of Auburn’s last 22 points of the second half – including a run of scoring 11 straight points for the Tigers.
It only took the first minute and a half of the second half of play for Broome to earn his 62nd career double-double. The former all-American finished the evening with 30 points, shooting 13-for-17 with 17 rebounds in 26 minutes of action – marking the third time Broome has hit 30 or more points in his collegiate career.
“Johni Broome proved he's an All American. He's the most dominant player on the floor. Our bigs shot an incredible percentage, and obviously we share the ball with 25 assists,” Pearl said.
Five Tigers ended the day in double figures with Auburn leading North Alabama 25-5 in assists – the Lions had averaged 12.8 assists a game prior to tonight's contest.
Chad Baker-Mazara and Denver Jones were the only Tigers to hit more than one shot from deep against the Lions with three a piece. Baker-Mazara knocked down his first two shots, both from three, and ended the day with 12 points and 3-of-6 from three.
The Tigers defense held Lions guard Jacari Lane, who entered the matchup averaging 22.8 points per game, to just two points in the second half shooting 1-for-7 from the field.
“Jakari is a terrific player,” Pearl said. “And we did everything we could to try to defend him. I thought, you know, obviously probably a little worn out, you know, it can make it tough to make shots.”
Through its first four games, North Alabama ranked 14th in the nation with a plus 8.0 turnover margin but was turned over 13 times by the Tigers on Monday night.
“They've been a better second half team all year long,” Pearl said. “But we're hard to come back just because of the pace of play and how hard they had to get open.”
The Tigers will look to take the momentum from their first four contests and apply it to its next four – three at the Maui Invitational and the road trip to Cameron Indoor against Duke – over the next week and a half.
“The thing about our team is our guys are committed to trying to defend and getting better at it. And that gives us a chance every night,” Pearl.
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Patrick is a junior from Auburn, Alabama, double majoring in journalism and marketing. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2022.
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