Johni Broome’s huge run leads No. 4 Auburn past North Alabama

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.

Headlines