The newly crowned fourth-ranked Auburn Tigers took on the UNA Lions this past Monday evening in a showdown that would reveal the true king of the jungle.
Chad Baker-Mazara set the tone quickly for the Tigers with a three-pointer that would be the first of many early on. Denver Jones and Baker-Mazara would combine for four threes early and get Auburn off to a 16-7 lead in just over three minutes of action.
UNA would respond by drawing foul after foul on the other end. Auburn stacked up five team fouls in just the first five minutes of game time, leading to a 9-4 run by the Lions, cutting Auburn's lead to four at 20-16 with 11 minutes left in the first half. The energy was resurged for the Tigers with back-to-back buckets from Dylan Cardwell, including an emphatic put-back dunk, but these Lions were on a hunt.
UNA’s junior guard Jacari Lane would go on an impressive run in the first half. At one point, Lane hit a step-back three, cutting Auburn’s lead to just two at 28-26 and claiming 12 of the Lions’ first 28 team points in the first 14 minutes of action. The UNA bench also added on eight points in this first half. UNA would eventually gain their first lead of the game at 33-32 with five minutes left in the half, thanks to a three from Canin Jefferson. Unfortunately for the Florence faithful, the Tigers' resurgence began with the help of a certain Naismith Player of the Year candidate.
Johni Broome would go on a tear to close the half, scoring 13 of Auburn’s final 18 points from all three levels. The half would conclude with a Johni Broome tip-in basket to give the Tigers a comfortable 50-37 lead.
In the second half, the Tigers simply outclassed the Lions. The Tigers opened the first seven minutes of the half on a 17-6 run led by... well, everyone. Threes were falling quickly from the likes of Denver Jones, Miles Kelley, and Chad Baker-Mazara. An and-one bucket from Broome, followed by blocks and buckets from the Tigers, would eventually land Auburn a 67-43 lead. The Tigers were off-running, and they didn’t look back.
The Lion's game was defined by mistakes upon mistakes. If it wasn’t a missed shot, it was a turnover, and if it wasn’t a turnover, they were allowing open looks on the other end. Coach Tony Pujol’s squad showed signs of fatigue, and when the Tigers saw blood, they bit.
Johni Broome wasn’t just dominating on the offensive end; he was anchoring the Tigers’ defense with three blocks of his own as well. The near-seven-footer plays the game in a way that makes it look easy. Broome would then lead his team to an impressive finish.
The relentless attack from the Tigers became too much to handle. The game turned into a highlight reel for Auburn, with dunks and threes causing the arena to sound as if it were mid-March. With the game already out of reach, Chaney Johnson would throw a lob to the fan-favorite big man Dylan Cardwell to give the Orange and Blue a more than comfortable 77-51 lead with just under ten minutes left to play.
The Auburn faithful even got to see some fresh faces make an impact for the Tigers in the final minutes. Presley Patterson and CJ Williams would both hit jumpers that caused the home crowd to erupt before the final buzzer.
Johni Broome would finish with an outstanding 30 points and 17 rebounds to help send the Lions packing back to North Alabama.
The Tigers will be back in action on November 25th at 8:00 PM (CST) when they face off against the fifth-ranked Iowa State Cyclones in the Maui Invitational on ESPN.
