Behind a double-double by Johni Broome and a big second half from Wendell Green Jr., No. 20 Auburn rallied for a dramatic 61-58 home win over Florida on Wednesday night.
A Broome dunk gave Auburn a 56-54 lead with 3:23 remaining in the game. He answered the bell again with 1:15 to play, when his layup put the Tigers back up 59-58.
Florida had a chance to win with less than 18 seconds to play, but a Chris Moore steal sealed the win for Auburn. Green’s last-second layup provided the final margin.
With the win, Auburn extended its home winning streak to 26 games.
Broome led Auburn (11-2, 1-0 SEC) with 14 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Jaylin Williams added 13 points. Green also had 14 points — 11 in the second half — in addition to five rebounds and two assists.
Kowacie Reeves and Myreon Jones were terrific for Florida (7-6, 0-1 SEC) off the bench. Reeves had a team-high 15 points, with four rebounds. Jones added 10 points.
Leading scorer Colin Castleton was limited to just six points but grabbed eight rebounds and had four assists. Alex Fudge (9 points) and Lofton (8 points) were also productive for the Gators.
Auburn held a 13-11 lead with 11:18 to play in the opening half behind four points each from Moore and Johnson.
After Broome picked up his second foul, Dylan Cardwell hit a jumper to give the Tigers a 19-16 lead with a little over five minutes to play in the opening half. A 10-4 Florida run to close a sloppy first half put the Gators up 26-23 at the break.
Florida held a 43-42 lead with 10:33 to go in the game, but a nifty pass by Tre Donaldson to Moore put the Tigers up 44-43 with a little over 10 to play.
Two Williams’ free throws trimmed Florida’s lead to 52-50 with less than six minutes to go.
–Field Level Media