TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Johni Broome had 19 points and 14 rebounds and five teammates scored in double figures as No. 1 Auburn beat in-state rival and second-ranked Alabama 94-85 on Saturday in a matchup of top-ranked teams.
Mark Sears scored 18 points and Grant Nelson added 12 points and 12 rebounds for Alabama, which rallied to tie the score after trailing by as many as 14 points in the second half but failed to complete the comeback.
Denver Jones scored 16 points, Chad Baker-Mazara and Miles Kelly added 15 points apiece, Chaney Johnson had 14 and Tahaad Pettiford 13 for Auburn (23-2, 11-1 Southeastern Conference).
Johnson picked up much of the slack for the Tigers after starter Dylan Cardwell fouled out after playing just 12 minutes and Baker-Mazara, a key bench player, fouled out with just over two minutes left. Johnson, who came in averaging 23 minutes per game, played 33 minutes Saturday.
Auburn now has nine wins over AP-ranked teams this season. Saturday’s win was the Tigers’ first over an AP top-two team since 1988; they had lost 20 straight such games before taking down the Crimson Tide.
Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway each scored 10 for Alabama (21-4, 10-2), which never led Saturday, the first time that has happened for the Crimson Tide in 87 home games under Nate Oats.
Alabama, which entered the day shooting 34.4% from 3-point range, made just five of its 26 3-point attempts (19.3%) on Saturday.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.