AUBURN | Both Tahaad Pettiford and Dylan Cardwell were left sprawled on the court for a time after taking hard hits.
They would both be okay but they’re probably not the only players from both Auburn and Missouri leaving Neville Arena Saturday evening with some extra bruises after a physical SEC opener.
“It’s part of basketball. That’s what makes basketball fun,” said Johni Broome, who had a game-high 24 points. “Once we get off the court, there’s no hard feelings. Going on the court, you’ve got to have a little bit of an edge, a little dog to you.”
No. 2 Auburn prevailed 84-68 to improve to 13-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference. One of the keys for the home-standing Tigers was holding Mizzou’s leading scorer Mark Mitchell to just six points on 2 of 9 shooting.
The junior transfer from Duke came into the matchup averaging 14.5 points per game.
“I thought we did a pretty good of defending Missouri and trying not to foul -- because those guys do such a great job of getting to the line and driving into contact,” said AU coach Bruce Pearl. “I thought we did a pretty good job -- again, that's been a factor for us. We're not fouling as much as we did a year ago. And yet, we're still able to be aggressive.”
Broome didn’t record his usual double-double with seven rebounds, but added two assists, one steal and four blocked shots. Four other AU players scored in double-figures in Chad Baker-Mazara and Chaney Johnson with 13 points apiece, and Denver Jones and Tahaad Pettiford added 10 apiece.
Jones’ totals included seven assists while Johnson added seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot off the bench. In such a physical matchup to open SEC play, Johnson was one of the keys in matching Missouri’s physical play.
“His impact on our team is crucial,” said Broome. “He comes in and just plays his butt off. He makes the highlight plays, he makes the little plays, he blocks shots, he defends, guards.
“To have a guy like that on our team is the reason why we’re one of the best in the country.”
Auburn returns to action Tuesday night at Texas. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
