Johni Broome scored a season-high 31 points and added 14 rebounds and four assists to help No. 1 Auburn earn an 82-70 win over visiting Georgia on Saturday in Southeastern Conference play.
Denver Jones added 17 points, while Chad Baker-Mazara and Miles Kelly chipped in 11 apiece, as Auburn (25-2, 13-1) won its fourth straight game.
Asa Newell had 20 points to pace Georgia (16-11, 4-10), followed by Silas Demary Jr.’s 18 points and Blue Cain’s 13. The Bulldogs dropped their fourth straight contest, all against ranked foes.
With Auburn leading 64-59 with less than five minutes remaining, Broome’s dunk extended the Tigers’ advantage to seven. Cain’s 3-pointer then pulled Georgia within four at the 3:44 mark.
Chaney Johnson’s layup and Broome’s free throws pushed the lead to eight, but Demary’s 3-point play cut the Bulldogs’ deficit five with 2:32 left. Newell’s put-back dunk trimmed Auburn’s lead to 74-68 with 1:13 left before the Tigers connected on six consecutive free throws to seal the win.
Trailing 29-24 at halftime, Georgia kept its deficit steady after Somto Cyril’s 3-point play pulled the Bulldogs within five at the 13:45 mark of the second half. Auburn doubled its lead over two minutes later when Broome’s 3-pointer extended the advantage to 50-40.
Broome’s 3-point play gave the Tigers a 58-50 lead with 7:44 left before he scored Auburn’s next two baskets and pushed the advantage to 62-54 just over a minute later. Dylan James and Jones then traded baskets before Georgia cut its deficit to five on Newell’s triple.
In the first half, after Broome’s two layups and Kelly’s five points gave Auburn a 9-0 lead, Georgia cracked the scoreboard on Cain’s 3-pointer with 16:03 left.
Jones’ pull-up jumper extended the Tigers’ edge to 13-4 with 13:53 remaining before Georgia answered with six straight points — including Justin Abson’s back-to-back baskets — to pull within three.
Broome’s first 3-pointer gave Auburn a 23-15 edge with 4:51 remaining. Baker-Mazara’s triple with nine seconds left put the Tigers up by eight, but Demary answered with a trey of his own in the closing seconds of the first half, cutting the Bulldogs’ halftime deficit to 29-24.
–Field Level Media
