April 19, 2024
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Johni Broome scored 19 points and matched a career high with 18 rebounds, Allen Flanigan scored a season-high 22 points, and No. 25 Auburn defeated Georgia 94-73 on Wednesday night.
Wendell Green Jr. added 18 points and six assists and made two 3-pointers during a 17-0 first-half run for the Tigers (17-5, 7-2 Southeastern Conference).
Broome secured his seventh double-double of the season with 2:54 remaining in the first half, then added six points and six rebounds in the second half.
Flanigan went 8 for 10 from the field to finish with his best scoring performance since February 2021.
“I actually texted (Flanigan) last night and told him I felt like he was gonna have a big one tonight,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “I said, ‘You’re gonna have a bunch of points. You’re gonna have a bunch of rebounds. You’re gonna play great defense, and you’re not gonna turn the ball over.’ ... And I love it when I’m right.”
After a 12-point win over Auburn last month, Georgia (14-8, 4-5) was attempting to complete its first regular-season sweep of the Tigers since 2017.
Mardrez McBride led the Bulldogs with 20 points. Georgia hit 10 3-pointers after halftime but never trailed by fewer than 15 points in the second half.
Auburn scored 48 points in the paint, which Georgia coach Mike White was quick to point out.
“You’ve got no chance to have success on the road in this league with that,” White said. “A lack of physicality and physical toughness, defensive rebounding, loose balls in the paint ... all of those areas, we really struggled tonight.”
