LAHAINA, Hawaii – Johni Broome had 23 points and a career-best 19 rebounds to lead No. 4 Auburn to an 85-72 victory over No. 12 North Carolina in a Maui Invitational semifinal Tuesday night.
Miles Kelly added 15 points and Chad Baker-Mazara scored 14 for the Tigers (6-0), who never trailed and led by as many as 19. They will play Memphis for the tournament championship on Wednesday.
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Broome scored 18 points in the first half and finished 9 of 18 from the field. He also had five assists and three blocks.
Chaney Johnson had 11 points and eight rebounds for Auburn. Denver Jones and Tahaad Pettiford scored 10 apiece.
Seth Trimble led the Tar Heels (4-2) with 17 points. RJ Davis, the reigning ACC player of the year, was held to a season-low 12 on 5-of-11 shooting.
North Carolina pulled to 33-30 on Jalen Washington's dunk in transition, but Auburn closed the first half on a 7-2 spurt to take a 40-32 lead at the break.
Takeaways
Auburn: Broome posted his fourth consecutive double-double and the 64th of his career.
North Carolina: The Tar Heels rallied to a 92-90 win over Dayton in the quarterfinal round — the second-largest comeback in program history — but were unable to duplicate the feat against the Tigers, who erased an 18-point deficit of their own Monday against No. 5 Iowa State.
Key moment
Auburn opened the second half on a 12-2 run spurred by Kelly's 3-pointer and capped by Baker-Mazara's 3 that stretched the lead to 52-34.
Key stats
Auburn held a 15-6 advantage in points off turnovers and held the Tar Heels to a season scoring low.
Up next
Auburn tries to become the third SEC team to win the Maui Invitational. North Carolina will play Michigan State for third place Wednesday night.
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