ESPN News Services
Feb 15, 2025, 07:13 PM ET
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Johni Broome had 19 points and 14 rebounds while five teammates also scored in double figures as No. 1 Auburn beat in-state rival and second-ranked Alabama 94-85 on Saturday.
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.
"I think the thing I'm proudest of is that all eyes of college basketball were on the state of Alabama and the SEC," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "What this conference has done in men's basketball is historic, and you never know if a game could live up to the hype."
"You've got to play well early if you're going to win on the road," he added. "We played well early, and as you would expect, Alabama came storming back, and I've never heard Coleman [Coliseum] this loud.
"That's how the No. 1 teams in the country should act, that's how they should compete, that's how they should play. And I was really pleased with that."
Denver Jones scored 16 points, Chad Baker-Mazara and Miles Kelly added 15 points apiece, Chaney Johnson put up 14 and Tahaad Pettiford had 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 remaining in the contest. Johnson, who came in averaging 23 minutes per game, played 33 minutes on Saturday.
Auburn now has nine wins over AP-ranked teams this season.
Saturday's triumph 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; it was the first time that had 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.
