BY NOAH GRIFFITH
FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN –– No. 11 Auburn University men’s basketball (21-6, 10-4) came back to life after its bye week, downing Georgia in Athens.
Auburn rose three spots in this week’s AP Poll following its 13th win by 20 or more this season. Auburn will remain tied with South Carolina for third place in the SEC behind Tennessee and Alabama, who are tied for first in a league where the top six teams are all within two games of each other.
“Just a great win,” said head coach Bruce Pearl. “On the road against a good team and our rival. Beating Georgia matters. Beating Alabama matters. It matters to our fans. It matters to our players. It matters in recruiting. And we beat a good team.”
Following is a recap of Auburn’s game with the Bulldogs. It was its only game of the week after an open midweek.
Saturday, Feb. 24:
Auburn 97 – Georgia 76
After an injury to Jaylin Williams against Kentucky, Chad Baker-Mazara and Chaney Johnson both got their first starts in an Auburn jersey, and they took advantage of it. Baker-Mazara dropped a career-high 25 points, and Johnson notched a season-best 16 as Auburn got back in the win column.
“To be honest, I just realized the guy in front of me couldn’t guard me,” Baker-Mazara said. “I told coach (Pearl), ‘Let’s take advantage of that.’ He believed in me today, put the ball in my hands, and thankfully I got to execute.”
Johnson — a junior transfer from the University of Alabama-Huntsville — stepped into Williams’ role and shined, further proving the surplus of talent on the Tiger bench.
“When Jaylin Williams went down, Chaney Johnson was next man up,” Pearl said. “But you saw his skill. You saw his athleticism. You saw him do it inside and out. You saw him do it defensively. You saw him do it on the boards. He did not look like anybody’s backup four. Just a tremendous step-up by Chaney.”
The state of Georgia has been good to Auburn this season. It has splashed a season-high 14 3-pointers a team both times it has visited the Peach State this season. Auburn scored 104 points in Atlanta versus Indiana in December, and Auburn made its most threes in SEC play versus Georgia. Neither would have been possible without five 3-pointers from Aden Holloway.
Along with Baker-Mazara’s and Johnson’s first starts, a reemerging Holloway made his first start since Jan. 27 versus Mississippi State and matched his season-best five long balls in a game for all 15 of his points. Along with increased scoring, he recorded three assists with just one turnover.
Holloway and Johnson both notched their first double-digit scoring games in league play, but they were just two of four scorers in double figures in the starting lineup, with Baker being a third. After a slow start, Johni Broome helped Auburn pull away with his 25th double-digit scoring performance this season.
Tallying his 11th double-double this season, Johni Broome went off in the second half, helping Auburn fend off Georgia’s run to bring it within five after the break. Despite going to halftime with three fouls, he played a full game and put up 16 points with 13 rebounds.
Once the Bulldogs threatened, the Tigers ran away with it for good.
Auburn led 45-34 at halftime, but Georgia stormed out of the break to make it 62-59 with 10:30 remaining in the game. At that point, Broome scored seven straight points for Auburn before a three from K.D. Johnson elevated its lead to nine.
Holloway took the game over from there with two consecutive 3-point makes. With two minutes left, his third long ball of the second half put Auburn up by 17 following a 20-9 scoring run several minutes earlier.
Continuing the show from beyond the arc, 6-foot-11 center Dylan Cardwell sunk his first 3-pointer since his freshman year, the final game of the 2020-21 season, with 1:17 remaining to slam the door on the Bulldogs.
Auburn improved to 93-95 all-time versus Georgia, and it will have the opportunity to record a season sweep of the Bulldogs when they come to Neville Arena for the last game of the season on March 9.
Before that, Auburn will have a grand opportunity to advance in a tight SEC race with a trip to No. 4 Tennessee (21-6, 11-3) on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 5 p.m. CST.