With a heavy heart, Baker-Mazara scores career-high and leads No. 14 Auburn over Georgia 97-76
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) Chad Baker-Mazara had some extra motivation on Saturday, and it resulted in a career-high in points and another win for No. 14 Auburn.
Baker-Mazara said his high school coach, Danny Brix, passed away this week, and the junior found out about it traveling to Athens to play Georgia. He responded with 25 points and Auburn cruised to a 97-76 win over the Bulldogs on Saturday night.
“He’s always been supportive of me,” Baker-Mazara said. “'Til the day he passed away, he was texting me, calling me, stop flopping or stuff like that, giving me a game plan to get better. ... It was just a lot sooner than you expect and it really lit a fire for me.”
Auburn big man Johni Broome had 16 points and 13 rebounds, with 13 of those points coming in the second half. Chaney Johnson added 16 points for the Tigers, who never trailed in front of a sold-out crowd that had a healthy number of Auburn fans on the road.
With first-place Alabama’s loss to Kentucky, Auburn (21-6, 10-4 Southeastern Conference) is just one game back of first place in the SEC with four games remaining.
Noah Thomasson led Georgia (15-12, 5-9) with 18 points. Silas Demary Jr. and Russel Tchewa had 16 points each. Tchewa had seven rebounds. The Bulldogs have now lost seven of their last eight.
“We don't have as many wins as we'd like,” said Georgia coach Mike White. “We're a more competitive, better basketball team, obviously. Better than we were early and better than we were last year. We are building and we are better, but we want results, though.”
Aden Holloway hit back-to-back 3-pointers for Auburn to cap an 11-0 run and push the Tigers' lead to 78-63 with 6:03 to play. Georgia never challenged thereafter. Holloway had five 3-pointers on the day to account for his 15 points.
“Aden is one of the best freshman point guards in the nation,” said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl. “He hasn’t shot the ball well for a bunch of games, that could have a young man lose his confidence. ... He has kept his attitude pretty good considering. He stayed in it and if we can get him feeling good about himself, that’s a very positive thing.”
Auburn entered having lost two of its last three and had to wait a week to bounce back from an 11-point home loss to Kentucky. But the Tigers came out firing, hitting seven of their first nine shots to jump out to an 18-8 lead. Baker-Mazara, in his first start at Auburn, had eight of the 18.
“To be honest, I realized the guy in front of me couldn’t guard me, so I took advantage of that,” Baker-Mazara said.
Auburn maintained its lead throughout the first half and led at the break 45-34. There were 22 personal fouls and four technical fouls in the first 20 minutes.
Georgia kept things close for the first 12 minutes of the second half and came close to taking the lead on multiple occasions.
“When it got close late, Chad Baker came into the huddle, rallied the troops, calmed them down,” Pearl said. “He's passionate, he's emotional, very appreciative of the opportunity at Auburn. He doesn’t need to play at home to play well.”
Auburn's second-leading scorer, Jaylin Williams, missed the game with a right knee injury. He had started all 26 games and is averaging 13 points per game.
BIG PICTURE
Auburn converted a must-win opportunity on the road to stay in the thick of the SEC race. This would be Pearl's third SEC title since arriving at Auburn in 2014.
Georgia continues to falter after its 12-3 start but will get another chance at Auburn in the season finale.
UP NEXT
Auburn: Visits No. 5 Tennessee, where Pearl coached for six years, on Wednesday night.
Georgia: Visits LSU on Tuesday night.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Chaney Johnson vs. Russel Tchewa (Tigers gains possession) | |||
19:58 | +2 | Chad Baker-Mazara makes two point layup | 2-0 | |
19:25 | +2 | Silas Demary Jr. makes two point jump shot | 2-2 | |
19:08 | +3 | Chad Baker-Mazara makes three point jump shot (Johni Broome assists) | 5-2 | |
18:46 | +2 | Jalen DeLoach makes two point jump shot | 5-4 | |
18:46 | Chaney Johnson shooting foul (Jalen DeLoach draws the foul) | |||
18:46 | +1 | Jalen DeLoach makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 5-5 | |
18:24 | Aden Holloway misses three point jump shot | |||
18:22 | Russel Tchewa defensive rebound | |||
18:03 | Silas Demary Jr. misses three point jump shot | |||
18:01 | Chad Baker-Mazara defensive rebound | |||
17:55 | +2 | Chaney Johnson makes two point layup (Chad Baker-Mazara assists) | 7-5 | |
17:36 | +2 | Russel Tchewa makes two point jump shot | 7-7 | |
17:19 | +2 | Johni Broome makes two point layup (Aden Holloway assists) | 9-7 | |
17:19 | Noah Thomasson shooting foul | |||
17:19 | +1 | Johni Broome makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 10-7 | |
17:04 | Russel Tchewa misses two point layup | |||
17:02 | Johni Broome defensive rebound | |||
16:49 | Johni Broome misses two point layup | |||
16:47 | Jabri Abdur-Rahim defensive rebound | |||
16:44 | Chad Baker-Mazara shooting foul (Russel Tchewa draws the foul) | |||
16:44 | Russel Tchewa misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
16:44 | +1 | Russel Tchewa makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 10-8 | |
16:34 | +3 | Denver Jones makes three point jump shot (Dylan Cardwell assists) | 13-8 | |
16:16 | Jalen DeLoach misses two point jump shot | |||
16:14 | Johni Broome defensive rebound | |||
15:53 | +3 | Chad Baker-Mazara makes three point jump shot | 16-8 | |
15:27 | Silas Demary Jr. misses three point jump shot | |||
15:25 | Aden Holloway defensive rebound | |||
15:18 | Johni Broome turnover (Silas Demary Jr. steals) | |||
15:18 | Johni Broome personal foul | |||
15:18 | TV timeout | |||
14:59 | Dylan Cardwell blocks Russel Tchewa's two point jump shot | |||
14:57 | Dylan Cardwell defensive rebound | |||
14:40 | Dylan James personal foul | |||
14:30 | +2 | Lior Berman makes two point layup | 18-8 | |
14:19 | +3 | Noah Thomasson makes three point jump shot | 18-11 | |
13:37 | K.D. Johnson turnover (Noah Thomasson steals) | |||
13:25 | Noah Thomasson misses three point jump shot | |||
13:23 | Tre Donaldson defensive rebound | |||
13:18 | Tre Donaldson misses two point layup | |||
13:16 | Dylan James defensive rebound | |||
13:10 | Dylan James turnover | |||
12:41 | Tigers turnover (shot clock violation) | |||
12:18 | Chaney Johnson personal foul | |||
12:10 | K.D. Johnson personal foul | |||
11:56 | +2 | Blue Cain makes two point jump shot | 18-13 | |
11:37 | Jalen DeLoach personal foul | |||
11:37 | TV timeout | |||
11:37 | Johni Broome technical foul | |||
11:37 | Johni Broome turnover | |||
11:37 | Jalen DeLoach technical foul | |||
11:37 | Jalen DeLoach turnover | |||
11:31 | +2 | Dylan Cardwell makes two point dunk (Chad Baker-Mazara assists) | 20-13 | |
11:07 | Dylan James misses three point jump shot | |||
11:05 | Tre Donaldson defensive rebound | |||
10:48 | K.D. Johnson misses three point jump shot | |||
10:46 | Blue Cain defensive rebound | |||
10:37 | RJ Melendez misses three point jump shot | |||
10:35 | Johni Broome defensive rebound | |||
10:29 | RJ Melendez shooting foul | |||
10:29 | +1 | Chad Baker-Mazara makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 21-13 | |
10:29 | +1 | Chad Baker-Mazara makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 22-13 | |
10:29 | +1 | Chad Baker-Mazara makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 22-13 | |
10:16 | Justin Hill misses two point jump shot | |||
10:14 | Chad Baker-Mazara defensive rebound | |||
10:07 | +3 | Denver Jones makes three point jump shot (Chad Baker-Mazara assists) | 25-13 | |
9:42 | Denver Jones blocks Justin Hill's two point jump shot | |||
9:40 | Justin Hill offensive rebound | |||
9:37 | +2 | Silas Demary Jr. makes two point layup | 25-15 | |
9:31 | Aden Holloway misses three point jump shot | |||
9:29 | Jabri Abdur-Rahim defensive rebound | |||
9:20 | Jabri Abdur-Rahim misses three point jump shot | |||
9:18 | Blue Cain offensive rebound | |||
9:11 | Chad Baker-Mazara blocks Jabri Abdur-Rahim's two point dunk | |||
9:09 | Chad Baker-Mazara defensive rebound | |||
9:07 | Blue Cain shooting foul | |||
9:07 | +1 | Chad Baker-Mazara makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 26-15 | |
9:07 | +1 | Chad Baker-Mazara makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 27-15 | |
8:42 | +2 | Silas Demary Jr. makes two point layup | 27-17 | |
8:42 | Dylan Cardwell shooting foul (Silas Demary Jr. draws the foul) | |||
8:42 | Russel Tchewa turnover (lane violation) | |||
8:19 | Chad Baker-Mazara misses three point jump shot | |||
8:17 | Justin Hill defensive rebound | |||
8:03 | Justin Hill misses two point dunk | |||
8:01 | Dylan Cardwell defensive rebound | |||
8:01 | Aden Holloway misses two point jump shot | |||
7:59 | Johni Broome offensive rebound | |||
7:59 | Johni Broome misses three point jump shot | |||
7:55 | Johni Broome offensive rebound | |||
7:53 | Johni Broome turnover | |||
7:53 | TV timeout | |||
7:41 | Noah Thomasson misses two point jump shot | |||
7:39 | RJ Melendez offensive rebound | |||
7:31 | +2 | RJ Melendez makes two point layup | 27-19 | |
7:11 | +3 | Chaney Johnson makes three point jump shot (Aden Holloway assists) | 30-19 | |
6:57 | +2 | Silas Demary Jr. makes two point jump shot | 30-21 | |
6:34 | +3 | Aden Holloway makes three point jump shot | 33-21 | |
6:05 | Dylan Cardwell shooting foul | |||
6:05 | +1 | Jabri Abdur-Rahim makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 33-22 | |
6:05 | +1 | Jabri Abdur-Rahim makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 33-23 | |
5:47 | Aden Holloway misses three point jump shot | |||
5:45 | Chad Baker-Mazara offensive rebound | |||
5:42 | Jabri Abdur-Rahim personal foul | |||
5:42 | Johni Broome misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
5:42 | Russel Tchewa defensive rebound | |||
5:26 | K.D. Johnson shooting foul (Jabri Abdur-Rahim draws the foul) | |||
5:26 | +1 | Jabri Abdur-Rahim makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 33-24 | |
5:26 | +1 | Jabri Abdur-Rahim makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 33-25 | |
5:04 | +2 | Chad Baker-Mazara makes two point jump shot | 35-25 | |
4:37 | Noah Thomasson misses three point jump shot | |||
4:35 | RJ Melendez offensive rebound | |||
4:28 | +2 | RJ Melendez makes two point layup | 35-27 | |
4:14 | Chad Baker-Mazara technical foul | |||
4:14 | RJ Melendez technical foul | |||
4:03 | +2 | Chaney Johnson makes two point layup | 37-27 | |
3:52 | Johni Broome shooting foul | |||
3:52 | TV timeout | |||
3:52 | +1 | Silas Demary Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 37-28 | |
3:52 | +1 | Silas Demary Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 37-29 | |
3:34 | Tre Donaldson misses three point jump shot | |||
3:32 | Bulldogs defensive rebound | |||
3:13 | Silas Demary Jr. misses two point jump shot | |||
3:11 | Chaney Johnson defensive rebound | |||
2:47 | +2 | Denver Jones makes two point jump shot | 39-29 | |
2:27 | Justin Hill turnover (Chaney Johnson steals) | |||
2:06 | +2 | Chaney Johnson makes two point jump shot | 41-29 | |
1:53 | Justin Hill turnover (Chad Baker-Mazara steals) | |||
1:46 | +2 | Chad Baker-Mazara makes two point layup | 43-29 | |
1:45 | Bulldogs 30 second timeout | |||
1:23 | +2 | Noah Thomasson makes two point layup (Frank Anselem-Ibe assists) | 43-31 | |
1:09 | +2 | Chad Baker-Mazara makes two point layup | 45-31 | |
1:09 | Tigers 30 second timeout | |||
0:43 | Denver Jones personal foul | |||
0:43 | +1 | Silas Demary Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 45-32 | |
0:43 | Silas Demary Jr. misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
0:43 | Chaney Johnson defensive rebound | |||
0:31 | Silas Demary Jr. personal foul | |||
0:31 | Tre Donaldson misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
0:31 | Frank Anselem-Ibe defensive rebound | |||
0:06 | Dylan Cardwell shooting foul | |||
0:06 | +1 | Silas Demary Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 45-33 | |
0:06 | +1 | Silas Demary Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 45-34 | |
0:02 | Dylan James blocks Denver Jones's three point jump shot | |||
0:01 | Tigers offensive rebound | |||
0:00 | End of period |