LAHAINA, Hawaii — In a thrilling matchup at the Maui Invitational quarterfinals on Monday night, No. 4 Auburn edged past No. 5 Iowa State with a final score of 83-81, thanks to a last-second putback by Johni Broome.
Broome was instrumental in the victory, finishing the game with 21 points and 10 rebounds. His performance was complemented by Chad Baker-Mazara, who scored 16 of his total 18 points in the second half, contributing significantly to Auburn’s comeback. After trailing by 18 points late in the first half, the Tigers (5-0) rallied to dominate the second half. Tahaad Pettiford added 14 points, with both Denver Jones and Miles Kelly finishing with 12 points each.
Leading the charge for Iowa State (3-1) was Keshon Gilbert with an impressive 23 points. Curtis Jones contributed 14 points, while Dishon Jackson and Milan Momcilovic added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Despite their efforts, the Cyclones were unable to sustain their first half lead, which was 49-33 at the break.
Auburn quickly turned the tide in the second half, launching an 18-2 run that was capped off by a Kelly 3-pointer, tying the game at 53 with 13:51 left to play.
Observations from the game revealed contrasting shooting performances from both teams. Auburn struggled early, making only 10 of their 26 shots in the first half, but rebounded by hitting 18 of 33 attempts in the latter half. In contrast, Iowa State found success early on, with 18 successful field goals out of 31 attempts in the first half, but fell short in the second half, converting only 7 of 22.
A pivotal moment in the game occurred when Auburn equalized at 81 with a basket from Kelly with 43 seconds left. Iowa State opted to call a timeout with 31 seconds remaining but turned the ball over, giving Auburn a critical possession. Although Denver Jones missed a layup attempt, Broome was there to secure the ball and score the winning basket with just one second on the clock.
One significant indicator of the game’s outcome was the rebounding battle. Iowa State had a slim 17-14 edge on the boards at halftime, but this momentum shifted dramatically, as they were outrebounded 21-10 in the second half, which crucially impacted their performance.
Looking ahead, Iowa State will now face the winner of the matchup between Dayton and No. 12 North Carolina in the semifinals on Tuesday. Auburn, on the other hand, will compete against the team that loses in that contest.