The Auburn Tigers faced the Texas Longhorns back home in Neville Arena on Wednesday after a very successful road trip this past weekend, where the Tigers defeated the Florida Gators in Gainesville for the first time in 30 years.
Though Auburn was looking to ride that wave of confidence against Texas, the Tigers did not get off to the start they were hoping for. However, head coach Steven Pearl’s squad was able to fight back and then pull away late to secure an 88-82 victory over the Longhorns.
The Tigers trailed by as much as 14 in the first half, though it wasn’t due to any extreme Auburn struggles. Texas just simply could not miss. The Longhorns were shooting 56.5% from the floor and 57.1% from behind the arc, quickly building a lead behind red hot shooters Dailyn Swain and Jordan Pope. Auburn managed to stabilize late in the half, but still trailed 42-34 entering the locker room.
As the second half started, the Tigers repeatedly struggled to cut into Texas’ lead. Every time Auburn reduced the deficit to single-digits, Texas would increase their lead back to ten points, punching back.
However, Keyshawn Hall came to life after just one made field goal in the first half, sparking the Auburn comeback. Two three-pointers from Hall, cut the Tigers’ deficit to just four. By the end of the second half, Hall was the game’s leading scorer, delivering a monster 31 points.
“I feel like we just stay consistent with what we are doing,” Hall said. “We knew they were collapsing, so once we got a couple catch-and-shoot threes by Kevin Overton right here, and a couple guys just catch-and-shoot threes and made them fan out to their man. Once they fell to a man, it's a one-on-one game after that, and once it is one-on-one, it is kind of hard to stop us.”
As time ticked down, Auburn took the lead for the first time since the 18-minute mark in the first half with 11:32 to play.. With their new lead secured and “The Jungle” roaring, the Tigers surged late in the second-half, holding a ten-point advantage over the visiting Longhorns.
Texas would keep it close through the final minutes, but the Longhorns didn’t have enough in the tank and eventually fell to Auburn by eight. The Tigers win could not have been possible without a standout showing from Texas Tech transfer guard Kevin Overton, who scored 25 points and was a perfect 8-8 from the free-throw line. Overton’s performance stood out to Pearl, who took notice of the performance.
“So when he [Overton] makes shots, our offense is way different,” Pearl said. “Obviously, we don’t win tonight if he and Keyshawn Hall don’t make eight threes. He’s capable of doing that, and I know it’s in there.”
The win improves Auburn to 14-7 overall and 5-3 in SEC play, tied for second in the conference. The Tigers will look to extend their win streak to five games with a trip up north to Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, when they will face the Tennessee Volunteers, who have won three of their last 4. The game is scheduled to tip at 7:30 p.m. CDT on ESPN.
