Johni Broome helps No. 3 Auburn outlast Ole Miss

Field Level Media

Johni Broome had 23 points and 15 rebounds and No. 3 Auburn held off Ole Miss 62-57 in quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament on Friday afternoon in Nashville.

Denver Jones added 13 points for the top-seeded Tigers (28-4), who will face No. 8 Tennessee in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon.

Dre Davis and Sean Pedulla each scored 12 points and Jaylen Murray and Malik Dia added 10 to lead the eighth-seeded Rebels (22-11).

Broom’s layup started the second-half scoring and gave Auburn a 31-22 lead. Ole Miss scored the next six points, but Kelly Miles made a jumper and a 3-pointer to push the lead to eight.

The Tigers led by eight on four more occasions before three layups by Pedulla and a jumper by Davis helped the Rebels pull even at 46. Chaney Johnson broke the tie by making a 3-pointer that ended a nearly six-minute field-goal drought for Auburn.

Jaemyn Brakefield made a free throw for Ole Miss, but Broome followed with a three-point play and a layup and Jones added a three-point play that gave the Tigers a 57-47 lead with 3 minutes left.

Davon Barnes made two free throws and Dia had a dunk that ended a more than four-minute field goal drought for the Rebels. Chad Baker-Mazara’s three-point play extended the lead to nine with 1:34 left.

Pedulla’s steal and layup were part of a 6-0 run that trimmed the lead to three with 38 seconds left, but Broome made a jumper with 11 seconds left.

The score was tied twice and the fifth lead change occurred when Auburn took the lead for the remainder of the first half, 15-14, on two free throws by Broome. The Tigers increased the lead to six points before Murray made a layup.

Two more free throws by Broome and a 3-pointer by Tahaad Pettiford gave Auburn its biggest lead of the half, 27-18. Ole Miss got within five points before Jones made a jumper to give the Tigers a 29-22 halftime lead.