BY JEFF SHEARER
AUBURNTIGERS.COM
AU basketball kicks off Steven Pearl Era with a bang
AUBURN — Auburn began the Steven Pearl era with a victory at Tipoff on the Plains on Nov. 3 at Neville Arena.
Texas Tech transfer Kevin Overton made two steals in the final minute of regulation and another in overtime to help Auburn defeat Bethune-Cookman 95-90 in OT, giving Pearl his first win as head coach.
“I’m proud of how we responded late,” Pearl said. “Our guys stayed locked in and focused. In overtime, our guys did a great job of making plays. We made free throws when it counted. It’s good to learn from these games with a win as opposed to a loss, but we’ve got a long way to go. I’m thrilled we found a way to get the win, but my mind is immediately going to all the film I’m going to be watching tonight and trying to find ways to get better.”
Newcomer Keyshawn Hall led Auburn with 28 points, including 16 of 18 free throws. KeShawn Murphy added 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 20 minutes. Overton scored 13 points and made a game-high four steals.
“We were prepared for the moment, nobody folded,” Murphy said. “Hats off to Coach Pearl, many more wins to come, many more things to learn.”
After freshman Sebastian Williams-Adam tied the score at 75-75 with 1:21 to play, Overton made two steals and scored four points on a turnaround jumper and a pair of free throws to put Auburn up four with 13 seconds to go.
“The four steals were him going out and making plays,” Pearl said. “I’m proud of KO. He had a lot of step-up late.”
Bethune-Cookman’s Arterio Morris made it a one-point game with five seconds remaining, then after hit a pair of Auburn free throws, the Tigers fouled Morris as he attempted a desperation 3-pointer from near half-court.
The former McDonald’s All-American, who had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, made all three free throws to send the game to overtime.
Bethune-Cookman scored the first points of OT on a putback, but Hall answered for Auburn with a 3-point play.
Hall gave Auburn the lead for good with a pair of free throws, then Overton made another steal and scored in transition, and the Tigers led by at least two points the rest of the way.
“Good players make good plays,” Murphy said of Overton’s defensive wizardry. “KO wanted to step up and make good plays for the team when it was necessary for the win.”
Hall scored half of Auburn’s 14 overtime points, going 5-for-5 from the free-throw line after making 9 of 10 from the line in the second half.
In his collegiate debut, Wiliams-Adams scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds.
“Our team was battled tested, trusting each other,” Williams-Adams said. “Credit to Bethune-Cookman. They gave us the adversity we needed at this point of the season.”
Tahaad Pettiford led Auburn with five assists, adding 11 points. Elyjah Freeman added nine points and eight rebounds.
Leading by one point at the half, Freeman capped an 8-0 run with a Eurostep slam to give Auburn a six-point lead with 11:37 to play, drawing the loudest cheers to that point.
The Wildcats responded as the lead changed hands 10 times down the stretch, making 6 of 8 3-pointers in the second half while amassing 44 points in the paint on the night.
Pettiford and Williams-Adams each scored eight points in the first half to help Auburn take a 38-37 halftime lead.
Pettiford hit the season’s first 3-pointer to give Auburn an early lead. Williams-Adams’ catch-and-shoot 3 gave Auburn its biggest lead of the half, 28-23, with 5:37 to play.
Bethune-Cookman answered with a late 5-0 run before Pettiford gave the Tigers their one-point advantage in the final minute of the half.
“A ton of credit to Bethune-Cookman,” Pearl said. “Their coaches did a phenomenal job. They had us off balance early. The zone gets you stagnant and standing.”
Auburn could’ve enjoyed a larger cushion if not for nine missed free throws on 16 attempts in the first half, a miscue the Tigers corrected in the second half and overtime by going 20 of 22 from the line.
AU routs Merrimack 95-57 behind Hall’s double-double
Ranked No. 20 nationally, Auburn basketball got another huge game from Keyshawn Hall and turned up the defensive intensity, forcing 15 straight missed shots to defeat Merrimack 95-57 Thursday, Nov. 6, at Neville Arena.
“Decent response after a tough game on Monday,” Pearl said. “As the game went on, we did a better job offensively. Defensively, switching bothered everything they were doing. I’m never going to complain about a win. Just need to use it as an opportunity to get better.”
Auburn maximized its size advantage, getting a combined 50 points from Hall, Emeka Opurum and Sebastian Williams-Adams. Hall led the Tigers with 25 points and 14 rebounds, his first Auburn double-double. In his first two games on the Plains, Hall is 28-for-31 from the free-throw line.
“My biggest thing coming from Cleveland is being physical,” Hall said. “I’m trying to go get fouled. That’s how I make my living right there.”
In his Auburn debut, the 7-foot Opurum went 4-for-4 from the field, scored 11 points and added four rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal.
“Coach Steve told me to step up and do what I do best,” Opurum said. “I believed in myself. You have to believe in yourself and always be ready to get your opportunity.”
“It was great to see him have some success and it was great to watch his teammates be excited for his success,” Pearl said. “I’m happy for him.”
Williams-Adams led Auburn with five assists and scored 14 points, Tahaad Pettiford scored 13 points and Abdul Bashir added 10, giving the Tigers five double figures scorers.
Filip Jovic grabbed seven of his 10 rebounds on offense and scored nine points, helping Auburn outrebound Merrimack 55-24.
“That’s a positive,” Pearl said. “Our guys did a better job in the second half keeping them off the offensive glass.”
“That was a big theme coming into the game,” Hall said. “If you want to score the ball, how about you go rebound the ball. We knew we had to check out because all the upcoming teams on our schedule are way bigger.”
The Tigers need a few minutes to get going offensively before putting together an early 11-0 run highlighted by Kevin Overton’s clock-beating 3-pointer and Opurum’s reverse layup.
Playing without center KeShawn Murphy, Opurum gave Auburn seven points, four rebounds and two blocks in 10 first-half minutes off the bench, including a dunk after Williams-Adams’ assist.
“I tried my best to step up as much as possible,” Opurum said. “Have to stand up and contest as many shots as possible because you never know what a contest can do.”
Auburn held the visitors to single digits for more than 14 minutes before Ernest Shelton hit three 3-pointers in three and a half minutes late in the half. The Tigers limited the Warriors to 19.4% shooting in the first half, taking a 39-22 halftime lead. Shelton led Merrimack with 23 points.
Leading by 17 points at the half, the Tigers used a 13-0 run to double their lead. Hall’s 3-pointer put the Tigers on top 55-30. The first of back-to-back Opurum dunks gave Auburn a 30-point lead.
Bashir’s 3-pointer in the final minute put the Tigers up by 40, allowing Pearl to reward walk-on scout teamers with playing time.
The Tigers (2-0) were set to play Tuesday, Nov. 11, at Neville Arena, hosting Wofford in the third-straight home game. Results were not available at press time.
Hall, Freeman lead Auburn over Wofford
Auburn hosted Wofford in the third-straight home game on Tuesday, Nov. 11. Keyshawn Hall and Elyjah Freeman combined for 41 points to lead the Tigers to a 93-62 win, helping Auburn score at least 93 points for the third straight game.
“Good to be 3-0,” said Pearl. “We had some real step-up from some from our guys tonight. Keyshawn Hall gets better every single game. There were some positives. Great teams are going to play hard for 40 minutes. I thought we played really hard for about 30, so we’ve got to put a complete game together to beat the best teams on our schedule.”
Hall flirted with a triple-double, totaling 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to log his second consecutive double-double while adding three blocked shots and two steals, tallying a team-best plus-32 and making all three of his 3-point attempts.
“He’s the first Auburn player to start the season with three 20-point games since K.T. (Harrell) in 2014,” Pearl said. “He can score on all three levels, and there aren’t a lot of guys in college basketball who can do that with the consistency that he’s done it. He’s done a great job of leading by example.”
Freeman scored a game-high 21 points, grabbed five rebounds and added three assists.
“All week, we’ve been prepping on getting to the rim, attacking their bigs,” Freeman said. “I was trying to get our team going.”
Overton scored 13 points while Pettiford contributed nine points, five assists, four rebounds and a team-best three blocked shots. The freshman trio of Kaden Magwood, Sebastian Williams-Adams and Filip Jovic teamed up for 24 points and nine rebounds while making 10 of 14 shots from the field.
For the second straight game, Auburn enjoyed a huge rebounding advantage, outrebounding Wofford 48-27, making the Tigers plus-52 on the boards in their last two games.
“That’s the separator in what we talk about wins games,” Overton said. “Rebounding is something we’ve been trying to emphasize and get better at.”
“It’s good to see improvement in that area,” Pearl said. “You’ve got to buckle your chin straps because Houston is a whole different animal. They play with a different level of physicality.”
Auburn loses by one point to No. 1 Houston
No. 22 Auburn gave No. 1 Houston a run for the money before falling 73-72 Sunday, Nov. 16, at Birmingham’s Legacy Arena in The Battleground 2K25.
“I want to thank the fans — that was a phenomenal environment,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “Showing up in numbers like that gave our guys the confidence and courage to give a substantial effort. They always show up. I really wanted to win that game for them.”
“Stay together in big situations. That’s what we did,” Pettiford said. “We got stops when we needed to, just couldn’t convert at the end of the game. We think we can compete with anybody in the country. We fought against a great team.”
“Our guys did a really good job of sitting down and guarding,” Pearl said. “We plugged gaps a little
bit better. Our guys made some plays and gave us a chance to win.
“I’m incredibly proud of the effort,” Pearl said. “We missed 12 free throws — that’s the difference in
the game. If we make our free throws, it’s a different ballgame. We expected to win the game. I have
elite confidence in this group. It’s about what we do from here.”
Keyshawn Hall recorded his third straight double-double to lead the Tigers with 20 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. Pettiford scored 15 and Kevin Overton added 13.
“We have a chance to be pretty good,” Pearl said. “If we continue to do the things we know we’re capable of and continue to build and trust each other, we’ll be okay.”
Auburn (3-1) was set to host Jackson State on Wednesday, Nov. 19. Results were unavailable at press time.
