It was the Jaylin and Johni show in Neville Arena on Wednesday night. Auburn's frontcourt duo combined for 44 points to lead the 13th-ranked Tigers to a 101-61 win over No. 11 South Carolina in a battle between two of the SEC's top teams.
Following the game, Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome coined a new nickname for themselves after combining to shoot 9-of-12 from beyond the arc.
"Splash Bros," the two said in unison to open their postgame press conference.
"Once we see the first one go in, we've got that confidence and we've got our coaches' and teammates' confidence," Broome added. "It's just going to the hot hand and making plays to help win the game."
"When you get nine 3-balls from your starting frontcourt, it kind of makes everything you try to do offensively work," head coach Bruce Pearl said. "That makes you hard to guard."
Led by Williams (23) and Broome (21), everything was working for Auburn on Wednesday as the Tigers put up 100 points against one of the SEC's better defensive teams. They shot 61 percent from the field (36-of-59) and 60 percent from deep (12-of-20) – both season highs – and only turned it over seven times.
The 40-point victory was Auburn's largest over a ranked opponent in program history.
"Tonight, after a slow start, we made shots and played with great freedom," Pearl said. "The other thing, too, that's important is we also disrupted them offensively. We turned them over, we were aggressive, and made plenty of offense out of our defense."
"They played some inspired, determined, intentional basketball," South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris said after the game. "You've got to give them a lot of credit."
The Gamecocks jumped out to a 9-4 lead, but Williams answered with a 3-pointer and Auburn responded with an 18-3 run over the next five minutes to pull ahead.
Williams had the hot hand in the first half, scoring 16 of his 23 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. Later in the half, the senior knocked down three straight 3-pointers to ignite another 17-6 run over the half's final five minutes and give Auburn a 50-28 lead at the break.
"I feel like they didn't really force me to do anything," Williams said. "I just felt like I had the right looks. We prepared for those looks, and I just had to knock them down."
Johni Broome took charge in the second half with 14 points and made all three of his 3-point attempts. He finished with 21 points for the game and has now scored in double figures in 16 straight games. His four 3-pointers were a new career best.
Williams and Broome have now scored 20 or more points in the same game in back-to-back games in Neville Arena. They did it last Wednesday against Alabama.
Tre Donaldson and Chad Baker-Mazara also scored in double figures for Auburn against South Carolina with 11 and 10 points respectively.
It was the third time in the last four games for Donaldson who added four assists and two steals with no turnovers. Baker-Mazara, who was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, has now scored 10 or more points in seven of the team's 12 SEC games this season. One of his four makes came at the end of the first half as he drained a 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Senior center Dylan Cardwell scored eight points off the bench and led the Tigers in both assists (5) and blocks (4). His five assists were a new career high.
With the win, Auburn (20-5, 9-3) is now tied with South Carolina (21-4, 9-3) for second place in the SEC with six league games remaining.
The Tigers will be back in Neville Arena on Saturday to host No. 22 Kentucky at 5 p.m. Auburn will also welcome ESPN's College GameDay back to the Plains for the third straight season and the fourth time in the last five years.
"We talk about trying to make history, and this team is trying to make history," Pearl said. "There's no better opportunity than having Kentucky, national television, College GameDay. It will be a great weekend. We work all year long for these opportunities."
