No. 4 Auburn dominated Memphis to win the championship game of the Maui Invitational on Wednesday, taking a 47–31 halftime lead and going on to a 90–76 victory.
Johni Broome posted a double-double in the first half with 15 points and 11 rebounds. He finished with 21 points, 16 rebounds and six assists. Dylan Cardwell added 18 points, shooting 8-for-8 from the floor, along with six assists. Chad Baker-Mazara scored 14, as Auburn improved to 7–0 to open its season.
Memphis took an impressive path to the Maui finai, upsetting No. 2 UConn and defeating Michigan State, but eventually ran into an Auburn buzzsaw. The Tigers from the SEC ran out to a 9–0 lead before Memphis closed the gap to four points.
With a 15–11 lead, Auburn then went on a 10–2 run finished off by a 3-pointer from Chaney Johnson. Bruce Pearl’s team didn’t let up from there, eventually taking a 39–19 lead punctuated by 3s from Broome and JP Pegues, followed by a dunk from Cardwell.
Auburn devoured Memphis on the offensive boards, grabbing 11 rebounds that led to 16 second-chance points. Broome led the way here too with four offensive rebounds. Additionally, Auburn forced 11 turnovers, leading to 14 points.
Penny Hardaway’s Tigers simply faced too deep a hole to climb out from, never getting closer than 15 points in the second half. By the time five minutes had been played, Memphis appeared to be out of gas against an Auburn squad that was getting scoring from seemingly every position on the court.
PJ Haggerty led Memphis with 27 points, shooting 11-of-20 from the floor, but he was the team’s only consistent scoring threat for the game. Colby Rogers (who went 3-for-3 on 3s) and Dain Dainja each scored 15.
On its way to the Maui Invitational championship, the first in school history, Auburn defeated No. 5 Iowa State, 83–81, in a last-second thriller and then beat No. 12 North Carolina, 85–72, to advance to the final. The Tigers also have a 74–69 win over No. 6 Houston in their impressive start.
Up next for Auburn is a test against No. 11 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge. Memphis hosts 7–0 Louisiana Tech, also on Wednesday.
