BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In their second exhibition game of the year, the Auburn Tigers lost a nail-biter, 87-85, at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, on Thursday night. The Iron Bowl took a twist Thursday, with this being the first time the teams have ever met in an exhibition game.
After the heated rivalry game, Auburn coach Steven Pearl said, “It felt like a Sweet 16 game in October.”
Narcisse Ngoy led the charge for the Tigers in the first half with eight points and four rebounds. Pearl had great things to say about the Frenchman after the game.
“I thought Narcese was really, really good early on in that game,” said Pearl. “You know, he had five offensive rebounds in 14 minutes, and I thought he really set the tone for how we want to play the game.”
Alongside Ngoy, Thomas Dowd also had an impressive defensive game. He dove on the floor for two loose balls in the first half. One contested loose ball ultimately sparked a major scuffle between the two teams and reminded fans that the Iron Bowl is still very real for these players.
Both teams traded the lead back and forth, and multiple players on both sides picked up technical fouls, but Auburn ended the first half on top, leading 44-41.
The Tide didn’t back down. Led by freshman Quayden Samuels and sophomore Amari Allen, Alabama got off to a strong second-half start, taking a 58-51 lead.
Auburn didn’t shy away, with Kevin Overton scoring 18 points in the second half, giving the Tigers a massive comeback. Auburn took a 74-72 lead with 3:49 left in the game.
The Tigers challenged the Tide until the end but couldn't stop Allen, who scored the last five points for the Tide and ultimately closed out the game, 87-85.
Pearl had plenty to say about the much-improved performance from the Tigers.
“I thought our guys battled, and we played with way more physicality and way more purpose,” Pearl said. “I thought offensively we played with more purpose, and I thought we shared the ball a lot better.”
After the game, another scuffle led the referees to separate the players as the teams headed into the locker room.
“It was a fiery game. It got chippy, as it should. only took four minutes to be a scuffle,” said Pearl.
Alabama coach Nate Oats also had thoughts on the chippiness of the exhibition.
“This is a rivalry game. This is an SEC game. So to be able to play an SEC game in the middle of October kind of lets you know what you got to work on,” said Oats. “I would like for some of the chippiness that went over the line to not happen. That’s not what you want to be about. So you know, we gotta clean that up.”
The Tigers showed that they can be real contenders down the stretch of the season. The Tigers will get one more exhibition game when they play Samford at Neville Arena on Oct. 29.
