Miles Kelly buried the game-winning 3-pointer with 30 seconds remaining to push No. 1 Auburn to a thrilling 53-51 win over No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday in Auburn, Ala.
Johni Broome scored 16 points off the bench in his return from injury, making 7 of 19 attempts from the field after missing Auburn’s previous two games with what appeared to be a severe ankle sprain. Chaney Johnson finished with 10 points for the Tigers (18-1, 6-0 Southeastern Conference), while Chad Baker-Mazara added seven points despite suffering an injury scare himself after taking a hard fall in the first half.
Zakai Zeigler led Tennessee with 14 points, making 4 of 15 attempts from the field while grabbing six rebounds and dishing five assists. Chaz Lanier added 10 points on and Felix Okpara led the Volunteers (17-3, 4-3) with nine rebounds.
Lanier gave Tennessee a 48-47 lead with 2:58 remaining on his second 3-pointer of the game, courtesy of an assist by Zeigler. Okpara started the sequence with a timely block on Broome. Tennessee extended its lead to 51-47 with a 6-0 run, but Auburn ended the game with a 6-0 run of its own.
The game was a rock fight from the opening tip. The teams started the game a combined 1 of 14 from the field overall and combined to shoot 1 of 21 (4.8 percent) from 3-point range in the first half. Auburn managed to take a 22-20 lead into the locker room at halftime, as Tennessee missed all eleven of its 3-point attempts and made just 7 of 25 attempts (28 percent) from the field overall.
A hobbled Broome was Auburn’s lone bright spot in the first half, scoring nine points on 4-of-10 shooting despite Auburn’s own abysmal 7-of-32 (21.9 percent) performance from the field overall.
Auburn finished the game with 18 field goals on 58 attempts (31. percent), making three of its 20 attempts (15.0 percent) from beyond the arc. Tennessee was 17 of 54 from the field (31.5 percent) and 4 of 22 from 3 (18.2 percent).
–Field Level Media
