LAHAINA, Hawaii — Johni Broome scored 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead No. 4 Auburn to the Maui Invitational championship with a 90-76 win over Memphis on Wednesday.
Auburn (7-0) opened the game with a 9-0 run spurred by Broome’s 3-pointer from the right wing just 22 seconds in.
Broome had 15 points and 11 rebounds by halftime and finished 8-of-15 from the field with six assists and four blocks.
Dylan Cardwell shot 8-of-8 from the field and finished with 18 points. Chad Baker-Mazara added 14 points and Denver Jones chipped in 11 points for Auburn.
PJ Haggerty led Memphis (6-1) with 27 points on 11-of-20 shooting while Dain Dainja added 15 points.
Auburn, which led 47-31 at halftime, pulled ahead by 22 points with four minutes to play.
Memphis: Senior guard Tyrese Hunter, an All-AAC preseason first-team selection, scored 23 points in Tuesday’s semifinal win over Michigan State. However, he was held to 11 points on Wednesday. Hunter did not score his first points against Auburn until the 16:32 mark of the second half.
Auburn: Only two SEC teams had won the Maui Invitational in the 40-year history of the tournament. Auburn joins Vanderbilt (1986) and Kentucky (1993) as tournament champions.
Auburn converted 3-pointers by Broome and JP Pegues on back-to-back possessions, both set up by offensive rebounds by Cardwell. After Broome hit a 3 from the right wing, Auburn forced a turnover before Pegues scored his 3 on the left wing to give the Tigers a 39-19 lead with 4:33 left in the first half.
Auburn had 23 assists and committed only nine turnovers.
Both teams return to the hardwood Wednesday when Memphis plays host to Louisiana Tech, while Auburn visits No. 11 Duke.