Auburn exploded in the second half, in part to its depth, to get its tenth win of the season, despite losing All-American Johni Broome early, with a 100-59 win over Georgia State on Tuesday night.
Just two minutes into the game the Tiger’s lost Broome to a right shoulder injury which resulted in him immediately running to the locker room to be attended to. On top of this, fellow big man, Dylan Cardwell got into foul trouble early on meaning Auburn needed its bench to step up and help rejuvenate its squad.
Senior forward Chaney Johnson did just that and stepped up and showed out for the struggling No. 2 Tigers.
“We always have the next man up mentality,” Johnson said about having to fill Broome’s role. “So with Johni going down I knew that I had to have a little bit more workload. BP (Bruce Pearl) was getting me the ball in the right spots, and my teammates were finding me in the right spots.”
Johnson would go on to have a career high 26 points, shooting 12-for-14 from field goal range, while also leading the team with eight rebounds. Johnson’s scoring is the second most by any Auburn player this season in a game just behind Broome’s 30-point performance against North Alabama.
The Tigers benefited greatly from their bench, with half of their points coming from non-starters. Usual contributors like Johni Broome were unavailable, while others, such as Dylan Cardwell, struggled with foul trouble. Even Miles Kelly had an uncharacteristically poor performance, going 0-for-5 from beyond the arc and 1-for-6 from the field.
“Other guys stepped up,” head coach Bruce Pearl said in regards to the depth of his squad. “50 points off the bench. You know the most obvious was Chaney Johnson was down. You know Chaney plays best against our most physical opponents.”
The Tigers also had some help from another veteran big man off the bench in senior Ja’Heim Hudson. Hudson ended up playing 17 minutes totaling four points, three rebounds, three assist, but most importantly zero turnovers.
“Ja’Heim Hudson did a really nice job,” Pearl said. “Coming in there in those minutes, three assists and no turnovers so we’re able to run our offense with him out there.”
Despite leading by 12, the Tigers looked deflated going into half after losing their All-American and playing a really abnormal sloppy first half getting out rebounded 21-18 while also having eight fouls.
Auburn was able to be the more physical team down the stretch ultimately tying up total rebounds at 34.
The Tigers will look to build on the lessons and adversity experienced in this game and take it into Birmingham, AL on Saturday afternoon as they take on a No. 16 Purdue squad at 3:30 P.M. CST.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Reid is a freshman, exploratory major. He joined the Plainsman in the fall of 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @ReidFarris2
