Auburn Men’s Basketball lost a thriller to the No. 1 Houston Cougars on Sunday in the Tigers’ most anticipated game of their non-conference schedule, 73-72. Despite the game being in reach in the final seconds, Auburn couldn’t grab the win.
It was a first half of runs in Birmingham, with no team fully getting a clear edge until the second half. Houston made the first significant run of the game about halfway through the first half, going on an 11-4 run to make it a 30-25 game. Auburn answered with a run of its own to tie up the game with two minutes before the half, but ultimately the Cougars went into the half with a four-point lead.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Houston came out with four straight points to make it an eight-point lead quickly. The Cougars' attack was led by freshman duo Kingston Flemings and Chris Cenac Jr, who racked up 22 and 18 points, respectively.
A huge 20-point performance by Keyshawn Hall, along with 15 by Tahaad Pettiford, brought Auburn back in the second half to only down four with under five minutes left to play.
After some clutch free throws by Kevin Overton and Keyshawn Hall, who suffered a lower leg injury when being fouled, Auburn had a chance to win the game with under a minute remaining.
After forcing the Cougars into a shot clock violation, Pettiford came out of a Houston timeout ready to attack. And attack he did, splitting multiple Cougar defenders and going to the basket. Pettiford couldn’t get the shot to fall, and no whistle followed, much to the displeasure of the majority Auburn crowd.
With only one second left, all Auburn could do was throw it up to the big man at the rim, and Keyshawn Murphy missed the shot, and with it the Tigers’ final chance to claim the win.
Auburn’s main weakness in the game was the free throw line, where the Tigers were just 21-33. After the game, Auburn Head Coach Steven Pearl talked about the missed opportunities at the line.
"You know, I thought, obviously at the end of the game, you know, we missed 12 free throws,” Pearl said. “That's the difference in the game right in there if, you know, if we go ahead and make our free throws, it's a different ball game."
Auburn will look to bounce back next Wednesday, as it hosts the Jackson State Tigers in Neville Arena. That game will be at 8 p.m. CDT and will be broadcast on ESPN.
