No. 1 Auburn slips past No. 6 Tennessee 53-51 in Johni Broome’s return from injury

Miles Kelly Hit the green light with 30 seconds remaining and Johnny Broom He had 16 points and 13 rebounds in his return to the lineup as No. 1 Auburn extended its winning streak to 11 games with a 53-51 win over No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday night.

Auburn (18-1, 6-0 SEC) reached its lowest point total of the season with Tennessee’s physical defense. Kelly’s 3-pointer off a Broome feed turned a two-point deficit into a one-point lead.

Tennessee had a chance to take the lead in the final seconds, but a three-point attempt by the Vols came up short Zakai Ziegler Missed the mark.

Broome, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound fifth-year senior and preseason Associated Press All-American — returned to action for the first time since suffering what coach Bruce Pearl described as “Big twistto his left ankle two weeks ago in a road win at South Carolina — he grabbed crucial defensive rebounds on Tennessee’s final two possessions.

Ziegler had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists to lead the Volunteers (17-3, 4-3). Chaz Lanier He added 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in the second half.

Both teams shot less than 32% from the field in the physical and defensive battle.

Ready meals

Tennessee: The Volunteers struggled with outside shooting in SEC play, and that continued in their third conference road loss.

Auburn: Even at less than 100%, Brohm showed how valuable he is to the Tigers’ offense with his outstanding performance.

Key moment

Kelly’s three-pointer, combined with Broome’s defensive stops, was enough for Auburn to remain the only undefeated team in SEC play.

Key statistics

Helped by Brohm’s return to the lineup, Auburn outscored Tennessee 41-37.

the next

Tennessee hosts No. 9 Kentucky on Tuesday. Auburn travels to LSU on Wednesday.

Associated Press report.

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