No. 1 Auburn was unable to complete the series sweep against in-state rival No. 7 Alabama on Saturday afternoon, falling 93-91 to the Crimson Tide in overtime.
"Obviously, those are two teams that are capable of getting the Final Four. Both teams stepped up in a lot of ways, and played great basketball. I thought Johni Broome demonstrated to the country why he's the National Player of the Year," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said following the Tigers' second-straight loss.
Johni Broome drilled a second-chance 3-pointer to tie the game at 91 with 14 seconds remaining, but Alabama's Mark Sears answered with a one-handed floater at the buzzer to seal the win.
"We're shifting gears to postseason and post season is all about step up," Pearl said. "Johni Broome showed step up tonight. Grant Nelson showed step up."
Broome posted a career-high 34 points, along with eight rebounds and three assists, shooting 15-of-28 from the field.
"I explained to Johni after the game, that's what I expect from him and so it was great to see him step up. And just need him to step up and continue to step up, because I know he's great," Pearl said.
Alabama out-rebounded Auburn 41-33, capitalizing with 52 points in the paint and 18 second-chance points.
Grant Nelson led the Crimson Tide with 23 points, shooting 8-of-15 from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, fueled by 15 first-half points.
Auburn struggled early, trailing 45-42 at the half after leading for just the first minute of play. The Crimson Tide got off to a hot start, building an eight-point lead just over seven minutes into play.
Tahaad Pettiford responded with three consecutive 3-pointers, Auburn’s only shots from deep in the first half. Pettiford went 4-for-5 from deep in the first half, racking up 14 points.
Broome has 16 first-half points, including Auburn’s final two baskets of the half.
The Tigers took a quick five point lead after the break after Miles Kelly made a layup and 3-pointer. Kelly — who was scoreless in the first half — scored 13 second half points, including three shots from behind-the-arc.
Alabama answered with a 15-2 run, building an eight-point lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Auburn responded with a 7-0 surge, cutting the deficit to one at the 9:06 mark.
From there, the game turned into a back-and-forth battle. With one minute left, Johni Broome converted a layup to tie it, ultimately forcing overtime.
Chad Baker-Mazara was ejected in the second half after being assessed a flagrant two foul, forcing the guard to miss the remainder of the game.
"I haven't seen the play," Pearl said postgame. "I really can't comment on it. I haven't seen it."
While Broome led Auburn with a career-high 34 points, Pettiford added 19. Kelly contributed 13 points.
The Tigers (27-4, 15-3 SEC) will begin SEC Tournament play in Nashville on Friday at noon CT, facing an opponent yet to be determined.
"We didn't cut nets down tonight and we didn't have a celebration, because you know what? We lost the contest. We won the championship last Saturday. We celebrated some last Saturday in Kentucky," Pearl said.
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Grace Heim is a senior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in Political Science. She started with The Plainsman in January of 2023.
You can follow her on X (Twitter) at @graceeheim
