Johnny Broome, no. 4 Auburn top no. 12 UNC reaches Maui final

On By Littum

NCAA Basketball: Maui Invitational_Auburn vs. North CarolinaNovember 26, 2024; Lahaina, Hawaii, USA; Auburn Tigers forward Johni Broome (4) shoots over North Carolina Tar Heels forward Ven-Allen Lubin (22) in the first half at the Lahaina Civic Center. Mandatory credit: Marco Garcia-Imagn Images

A sensational performance of 23 points, a career-high 19 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots from Johni Broome drove the No. 4 Auburn past no. 10 North Carolina 85-72 on Tuesday and into the championship game of the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.

Auburn will face Memphis on Wednesday for the tournament championship, while North Carolina will face Michigan State on Wednesday for third place.

Broome set the tone early, scoring a career-high 18 points in the first half. Broome already had a double-double by halftime, 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 rallied for 21 second-half points in its win over Dayton on Monday, cut the deficit to four points shortly before halftime. The Tigers went on a run from that point into the opening minutes of the second half, outscoring the Tar Heels 16-2.

Auburn’s lead grew to as many as 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 left, but they could get no closer. Denver Jones quickly stopped the rally attempt with a 3-pointer at 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 range 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 points.

All but Johnson knocked down at least two 3-pointers as Auburn made 11 of 30 from long range.

Trimble went 3-for-6 from behind the arc and the Tar Heels finished 6 of 16 on 3-point attempts.

RJ Davis finished 1-for-4 from the outside and 5-for-11 from the floor for 12 points, 18 fewer 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