The No. 4 Auburn Tigers continued their winning ways in the semifinal round of the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center, taking down the No. 12 North Carolina Tar Heels, 85-72.
It’s now three wins against top 12 teams – two top five – on the season for the Tigers.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
First half Broome
It’s typically been in the second half of games where Johni Broome makes his grand appearance, but against the Tar Heels it was Broome who set the tone early.
Broome had 11 points before the under-16 timeout – seven on the first three Tiger possessions – and secured his 64th career double-double in the half with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Tigers were +16 while Broome was on the floor.
He finished his night with 23 points and 20 rebounds – a new career-high – marking three-straight games of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Stout defensive effort
The Tar Heels came into the game averaging 93 points per game behind reigning ACC player of the year RJ Davis’ 20.2 points per game and three others averaging double figures.
The Tigers held them to 72 points, which they didn’t reach until the final moments of the game. This is just the second time this season that they have given up at least points to an opponent.
Davis was held in check for most of the night, scoring just four points in the first half and ending his night with 12. It was Seth Tremble who led the Tar Heels' scoring efforts with 17 points and shooting 50% from behind the arc.
Auburn recorded seven blocks and seven steals, scoring 15 points off of turnovers on the night.
Group effort in the second half
The Tar Heels came out of the second half with one thing on their mind, and that was limiting Broome after his electric first half performance.
Sending double teams his way, Broome was able to dish out a few quick assists to start the second half to Miles Kelly and Denver Jones to spark a 12-2 run to start off the half.
Auburn had six players reach double figures on the night with Kelly leading the way in the second half with 12
Hustle stats & free throws
The hustle plays stood out and were a large part of why Auburn built an 18-point lead at one point.
The Tigers hauled in 11 offensive rebounds, which turned into 12 second-chance points. They turned the Tar Heels over 10 times, resulting in 15 points on the other end of the floor. Auburn outrebounded a physical Tar Heel bunch 42 to 36. The Tigers also went 14-of-17 from the charity stripe, an 82% clip.
Coming into the game, North Carolina had made 122 free throws compared to just 62 from their opponents. While they had two more attempts from the line than the Tigers, Auburn made two more than they did.
The Tigers are back in action on Wednesday at the Lahaina Civic Center against Memphis for the championship game of the Maui Invitational. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email logan.fowler@1819News.com.
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