AUBURN, Ala. — No. 2 Auburn (10-1) defeated Georgia State (4-7) 100-59 Tuesday night. Auburn won comfortably, but the start was far from enjoyable for anyone associated with Auburn basketball.
Just two minutes into Tuesday night’s game, star forward Johni Broome went up for a rebound and injured his right shoulder in the process. Broome immediately exited the court as everyone in Neville Arena collectively held their breath. Broome would not return to the game, but others stepped up.
“His (Johni’s) right shoulder kind of came out, came back,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. “He did it a year ago. He’s had some experience with it.”
Leading the way for the Tigers was senior forward Chaney Johnson. Johnson comes off the bench for Auburn, but when Broome went down Johnson seized on the opportunity to play a bigger role. He scored a career-high 26 points on 12-14 shooting. He added eight rebounds and four assists to go with the big scoring night. He was a dominating presence in the paint that Georgia State had no answer for.
“Obviously Chaney Johnson was dominant,” Pearl said. “Chaney plays best against our most physical opponents.
Along with Johnson, senior guard Denver Jones caught fire from three-point range Tuesday night. Jones hit five threes and scored 17 points in total.
“Don’t you feel he’s (Denver) going to make it every time he shoots it,” said Pearl. “Our guys have done a pretty good job getting him open.”
Chad Baker-Mazara struggled from the field shooting, going 4-11, but he added 11 points at the charity strike to bring his total to 19 on the night.
“He (Baker-Mazara) affects the game in a lot of ways,” Pearl said.
While not as noticeable in the box score, Auburn got quality minutes from other players as well. Ja’Heim (Turtle) Hudson played 17 minutes in the game, the majority of which came at the center position where he is the third option. However, with Broome out and Dylan Cardwell in foul trouble, his number was called upon. Hudson delivered four points, three rebounds, and three assists.
“I thought Turtle did a really nice job coming in there in those minutes,” Pearl said. “He had three assists and no turnovers so we could run our offense with him out there.”
Auburn showed that more than one player makes a team. It was a collective effort from multiple different players that allowed the Tigers to add another dominating win to the resume.
Next up, Auburn will face another challenging non-conference opponent in Purdue. The game will take place in Birmingham. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 on the Auburn Sports Network and ESPN.
