Chad Baker-Mazara scored 25 points on 8-for-12 shooting, and No. 14 Auburn pulled away for a 97-76 win over Georgia on Saturday evening in Athens, Ga.
Johni Broome posted a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds for Auburn (21-6, 10-4 Southeastern Conference). Chaney Johnson also scored 16 points and Aden Holloway finished with 15.
Noah Thomasson scored 18 points to lead Georgia (15-12, 5-9). Silas Demary Jr. and Russel Tchewa contributed 16 points apiece.
Auburn shot 62.1 percent (36 of 58) overall and 53.8 percent (14 of 26) from 3-point range. Georgia shot 43.6 percent (24 of 55) from the field and 21.4 percent (3 of 14) from deep.
Georgia never led but pulled within 60-57 with 11:49 remaining. That followed a 12-2 run, which concluded with seven straight points on a layup by Thomasson, a 3-pointer by Justin Hill and a pair of free throws by Demary.
The Tigers responded with a 24-10 run to pull ahead 84-67 with 4:19 to play.
Broome scored nine points in a row for Auburn to start the scoring run. He had three layups and a 3-pointer to make it 69-63 with 8:35 to go.
Then came a trio of 3-pointers for Auburn, which grabbed a 78-63 advantage with 6:12 to go. K.D. Johnson made the first shot from beyond the arc, and Holloway followed with back-to-back 3-pointers.
Dylan Cardwell added a 3-pointer for Auburn’s final basket to make it 97-74 with 1:17 to go.
Blue Cain made a layup for Georgia in the final minute to finish the scoring.
Auburn led 45-34 at the half.
The Bulldogs struggled to keep pace after the first few minutes. The score was tied 7-7 when Auburn went on an 11-1 run to seize an 18-8 advantage.
Broome converted a three-point play to start the run. Denver Jones and Baker-Mazara also made 3-pointers during the run, which gave the Tigers a double-digit lead 5:31 into the game.
Baker-Mazara made a layup to put Auburn on top by 14 points with 1:09 to go in the first half.
–Field Level Media