The No. 12 UNC men’s basketball team (4-2) fell, 85-72, to the No. 4 Auburn Tigers (6-0) on Tuesday night in the semifinal of the Maui Invitational.
The Tar Heels found themselves a similar situation from the night before in their game against Dayton: down 18 points less than three minutes into the second half. But unlike previous efforts, UNC was never able to get within striking distance. North Carolina had no answer for Auburn All-American center Johni Broome, who finished the game with 23 points and 19 rebounds.
The Tigers got out to an early 9-2 lead, led by Broome, who made two layups and hit a step back 3-pointer for seven of Auburn's first nine points.
A layup by graduate guard RJ Davis cut the deficit to 9-4, but the Tigers responded when Chad Baker-Mazara converted on a contested 3-pointer.
An alley-oop layup and fadeaway jumper by Broome extended the Tiger’s lead to 16-6 five minutes into the game. A corner 3-pointer by guard Miles Kelly increased Auburn’s early lead to 13.
Junior guard Seth Trimble made time freeze, floating to the rim for an easy layup that was followed by a corner 3-pointer, part of a 15-2 run by North Carolina to cut the deficit to two halfway into the first half.
The Tigers responded with a 7-0 run, capped by a corner 3-pointer by Broome, making the game 30-21.
An emphatic transition slam by junior center Jalen Washington on the feed from Trimble diminished Auburn’s lead to three points with less than five minutes remaining in the first half.
Gliding to the rim, Trimble converted an open layup bringing the Tar Heels within four with less than two minutes left in the half.
