Johni Broome made a tip-in with 1.2 seconds left to give No. 4 Auburn a come-from-behind, 83-81 victory over No. 5 Iowa State on Monday in the opening round of the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.
Broome helped set up his game winner with a steal at the other end of the floor. He cleaned up Denver Jones’ miss on a driving layup attempt, but as Broome was swarmed by his teammates, he lay on the court in pain, suffering a cramp in his leg.
The play capped a rally after Auburn (5-0) trailed by as many as 18 points at halftime. The Tigers outscored the Cyclones (3-1) 50-32 in the second half.
Broome finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Chad Baker-Mazara led the Tigers’ surge by scoring 16 of his 18 points in the second half. Jones added 10 of his 12 points in the second half while Miles Kelly scored nine of his 12 after halftime. Tahaad Pettiford chipped in 14 points for the Tigers.
Next up for Auburn is a Tuesday semifinal against No. 12 North Carolina, which beat Dayton 92-90 later Monday night. Iowa State will oppose the Flyers on Tuesday in the consolation bracket.
Jones’ two free throws with 4:01 left gave Auburn its first lead of the game, 75-73. He expanded the lead to four on the next possession with a corner jumper.
Keshon Gilbert, who scored 23 points for Iowa State, tallied six of his points in the final 2:07 to give the Cyclones an 81-79. Kelly answered with a layup with 38 seconds left to set up the wild finish.
Curtis Jones supplied 14 points off the bench for the Cyclones, while Dishon Jackson scored 13 points and Milan Momcilovic added 12 points.
After Iowa State (3-1) dominated the first half with its suffocating, scrambling defense, Auburn flipped the script following the break. The Cyclones hit just 31.8 percent of their shots in the second half after shooting 58.1 percent in the opening period.
Auburn got back in it with a 13-0 run early in the second half, with Baker-Mazara capping the spree with a 3-pointer, followed by a four-point play that made it 51-48 with 15:30 left.
Iowa State clung to its slim lead before Jones’ free throws began the back-and-forth final minutes.
Late in the first half, Momcilovic bookended a six-point run with a pair of buckets as Iowa State took a 49-33 lead into the break.
–Field Level Media
