A sensational performance of 23 points, a career-high 19 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots from Johni Broome powered No. 4 Auburn past No. 12 North Carolina 85-72 on Tuesday and into the championship game of the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.
Auburn will oppose Memphis on Wednesday for the tournament championship, while North Carolina faces Michigan State on Wednesday in the third-place game.
Broome set the tone early, scoring 18 of his game-high point total in the first half. Broome already had a double-double by intermission, with 10 boards in the first 20 minutes.
Behind its All-American, Auburn (6-0) never trailed and built a first-half lead of as many as 15 points.
North Carolina (4-2), which had rallied from down 21 points in the second half in its win over Dayton on Monday, cut the deficit to four points shortly before halftime Tuesday. The Tigers went on a run from that point that carried over into the opening minutes of the second half, outscoring the Tar Heels 16-2.
Auburn’s lead swelled to 19 points before North Carolina briefly threatened.
Seth Trimble scored six of his team-high 17 points on back-to-back 3-pointers that pulled the Tar Heels within 75-66 with 3:17 to go, but they could get no closer. Denver Jones quickly snuffed out the rally attempt with a 3-pointer on the other end, part of his 10 points.
Six Tigers scored in double figures, including Miles Kelly, who shot 3-for-7 from 3-point distance en route to 15 points. Chad Baker-Mazara added 14 points, Chaney Johnson came off the bench to add 11 points, and Tahaad Pettiford scored 10.
All but Johnson knocked down at least two 3-pointers, as Auburn made 11 of 30 from long distance.
Trimble went 3-for-6 from behind the arc, and the Tar Heels wound up 6 of 16 on 3-point attempts.
RJ Davis finished 1-for-4 from outside and 5-for-11 from the floor for 12 points, 18 less than his output that led North Carolina past Dayton on Monday. Elliot Cadeau, Jae’Lyn Withers and Ven-Allen Lubin each added 10 points in the loss.
–Field Level Media
