Johni Broome scored 17 of his 30 points in the final 7 1/2 minutes of the first half to lead fourth-ranked Auburn to a 102-69 victory over visiting North Alabama on Monday night.
After moving up one spot in the latest poll, the Tigers (4-0) were threatened for the first 15 minutes before gradually pulling away in their final tune-up before heading to the Maui Invitational to join a field that features two-time reigning national champion UConn, North Carolina, Iowa State and Michigan State.
Broome did not take his first shot until there was 7:35 left in the opening half and the Tigers trailed 33-32 with 5:12 before the forward took over. He hit a jumper on the next possession to give Auburn the lead for good and scored seven straight Tigers points before hitting three jumpers in the final 63 seconds that capped an 18-5 burst and pushed the lead to 50-37 by halftime.
In 26 minutes, Broome made 13 of 17 shots and collected 17 rebounds for his second double-double this season and 26th since transferring to Auburn from Morehead State. Broome also became the school’s 31st player to reach 1,100 career points.
Broome matched his career high with Auburn and finished two shy of his overall career high set in 2022 with Morehead State.
Denver Jones added 13 points and nine of Auburn’s 25 assists while Chad Baker-Mazara and Miles Kelly contributed 12 apiece as the Tigers shot 61.9 percent.
Jacari Lane scored 16 to lead North Alabama (3-2), which fell to 0-5 all-time against ranked opponents since moving to Division I in 2018. Daniel Ortiz and Will Soucie scored 15 apiece as the Lions shot 42.2 percent
Jones scored eight points in an early 10-0 run that opened a 16-7 lead but the Lions hung around and took a one-point lead on a 3 by Cani Jefferson with 5:12 left in the half, but the Tigers stretched the lead back up to 13 by halftime, led by Broome’s big finsh.
Broome reached 20 points by converting a three-point play with 15:20 left to extend the lead to 62-41 with 15:20 left. He reached 30 with another three-point play with 3:29 left before exiting to an ovation from the crowd.
