3-pointers starting to fall for Auburn basketball as Tigers roll over Winthrop

AUBURN — Coming into Tuesday's game against Winthrop, Auburn basketball was 9-of-50 from 3-point range through the first two games of the season. Against the Eagles, though, the shots finally started to fall, as the Tigers shot 39.1% from deep.

Couple the prolific shooting with a dominant performance from Johni Broome and the Tigers (3-0) rolled to an easy 89-65 win against the Eagles (2-2) in Neville Arena to maintain their perfect record. Tuesday's matchup also served as the penultimate game of a four-game homestand Auburn has to start the 2022-23 campaign. The Tigers host Texas Southern (1-3) on Friday and then head to Mexico to face Bradley (2-1) in the Cancun Challenge.

Johni Broome's double-double

Morehead State transfer Johni Broome had his best game in an Auburn uniform, dropping 18 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and a pair of steals in 20 minutes of play. After Auburn's win against USF last Friday, coach Bruce Pearl said Broome was dealing with an ankle injury. Against the Eagles, though, you wouldn't be able to tell.

Broome was able to score his 1,000th career point, too, which was highlighted with a graphic on the videoboard during a timeout.

The Tampa, Florida, native had 36 double-doubles at Morehead State. Of the 13 rebounds he had Tuesday, eight came on the offensive end. The Tigers outrebounded Winthrop 53-33 and had a nine-rebound advantage on the offensive glass.

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3-pointers fall

Only two players on Auburn's roster came into the game shooting better than 37% from 3-point range, and one of those was Chris Moore, who had only taken one shot this season. The other was Allen Flanigan, who was 3-of-8.

But the Tigers shot the ball with some efficiency Tuesday, finishing 9-of-23 on 3-pointers. Wendell Green Jr. finished 4-of-6, including a shot from the logo early in the second half that sent a jolt of energy into the arena. Green also had a game-high five assists, made even more impressive by the fact he had zero turnovers.

Zep Jasper was 2-of-4. He only made one shot against George Mason and USF, but finished with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field against Winthrop.

Enough to go around

Of the 12 players who stepped on the floor against the Eagles, 11 scored, and nine had five or more points. Broome's 18 led the way, but Green wasn't too far behind with 16 points. Freshman Yohan Traore also broke double digits for the first time in his collegiate career with 11.

The 11 players who scored also all logged 10 or more minutes. Pearl has been putting the depth of his team on full display through the early part of his team's nonconference schedule.

Freshman Chance Westry, who had yet to make his debut due to a knee injury, got on the floor for the first time. He scored the first points of his career on a midrange pull-up, which he was also fouled on. The former four-star finished with five points in 17 minutes of action.

Richard Silva is the Auburn beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Johni Broome leads Auburn basketball to win over Winthrop