Auburn found itself in an unexpected position late in the first half against North Alabama.

The Tigers weren’t playing a bad game, but trailed a seemingly overmatched North Alabama team 33-32 after leading for most of the half. When potential adversity hit, though, Auburn did what many good teams do: rely on its best player.

Johni Broome scored the next seven points, helping Auburn end the half on an 18-4 run, and the game was never in doubt again after that as Auburn cruised to a 102-69 win.

“Johni Broome proved why he’s an All-American,” Bruce Pearl said after the game. “He was the most dominant player on the floor.”

Broome finished with 30 points and 17 rebounds, dominating on both ends for the 26 minutes he was on the floor.

His points came in a variety of ways too. In the paint, at the free throw line and even a 3-pointer in the first half. Broome took over the game, starting toward the end of the first half, something that didn’t necessarily surprise him.

“I walk into every game looking to take over and put my stamp on the game,” Broome said. “Today, it was scoring the ball and rebounding the ball. I felt like my team needed it in those moments. I just want to win, at the end of the day.”

One could argue that Broome’s ability to take over was the difference in the game, but Pearl pointed more toward how Broome’s play fit within Auburn’s gameplan going into the game.

“Well it was important, but that was sort of the scouting report for the first 16 minutes, and then the last four minutes, they got the ball inside to Johni and he scored,” Pearl said. “We didn’t do a very good job of… early, we fouled, they scored, and we did not go inside, and as a result, the game was close.”

Auburn has shown throughout the young season that its offense is one of the best in the country when it can effectively play inside-out. The Tigers’ two-point field goal percentage is No. 1 in the country at 70.1%, according to KenPom, highlighting how efficient Auburn is at the rim.

Combine that with a night like Monday where Auburn shot 44% from 3, and the offense becomes nearly unstoppable.

“We shot a good percentage from 3, and it was a great balance of inside-out,” Pearl said. “Again, Johni and Dylan [Cardwell] are two of the best centers in college basketball. We got both of them.”

Cardwell’s performance gave Auburn another weapon inside, tying a career high with 12 points. He and Broome combined to shoot 18-for-23 from the field, another example of Auburn’s efficiency around the basket.

Pearl continues to start Broome and Cardwell together in a somewhat unconventional two-center lineup, but through four games, it seems to be working.

“It’s fun playing with Dylan. Dylan’s like a brother to me,” Broome said. “I feel like he’s letting the game come to him, as you can see, he’s very dominant down there. I just want him to keep playing with the confidence that he’s playing with right now, like you saw.”

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m