No. 4 Auburn coasts past Memphis to win Maui title

Johni Broome had 21 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots Wednesday to lead No. 4 Auburn to a 90-76 victory over Memphis in the Maui Invitational’s championship game played in Lahaina, Hawaii.

Broome scored 65 points in the three tournament games.

Dylan Cardwell made each of his eight field goal attempts and finished with a career-high 18 points for Auburn, which never trailed in the game. Auburn (7-0) received a 14-point performance from Chad Baker-Mazara and 11 points from Denver Jones.

Auburn, which beat No. 5 Iowa State and No. 12 North Carolina to reach the championship game, shot 56.7 percent from the field (34 of 60).

PJ Haggerty was 11-of-20 from the field and led Memphis (6-1) with 27 points and nine rebounds. Colby Rogers and Dain Dainja each finished with 15 for Memphis.

Memphis guard Tyrese Hunter scored 49 points in tournament victories over UConn and Michigan State but was held to 11 in the championship game. He didn’t score his first points until 16:34 remained in the game.

Memphis, which entered the game ranked third among Division I teams in 3-point shooting percentage (45.4 percent), was 6-of-9 from behind the 3-point arc. Memphis shot 50 percent from the field overall (28-of-56).

Auburn scored the game’s first nine points and led 34-17 following a Broome 3-pointer with 5:59 to play in the first half. Auburn had a 20-point lead – its largest of the half – when a Cardwell dunk made it 39-19. Memphis trailed 47-31 at halftime.

Auburn had a 22-11 rebounding advantage through the first 20 minutes. That included a 10-3 edge in offensive rebounds. Broome had 15 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots in the first half.

Auburn led by as many as 22 points in the second half. Memphis was never closer than 13 points in the final 20 minutes.

–Field Level Media