COLUMBIA, S.C. – Tahaad Pettiford passed to Dylan Cardwell for a go-ahead dunk, then made a pair of free throws with 4 seconds left to lead No. 2 Auburn to a come-from-behind 66-63 win over South Carolina Saturday at Colonial Life Arena, a victory that will likely vault the Tigers to the No. 1 ranking for the second time in program history.
“We really stepped up and that’s what gives us a chance to be No. 1 on Monday. That matters to me because it’s history,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “I’d rather be No. 1 at the end of the year, but we’ll take it when we can get it.”
Trailing by six at the half, Auburn erased South Carolina’s lead before Collin Murray-Boyle broke a tie with a basket on which Auburn’s Johni Broome landed awkwardly on his left ankle and missed the rest of the game.
“Without our leader, without our best player, our guys stepped up and found a way,” Pearl said.
Auburn rallied with Broome in the locker room, taking its first lead of the second half on Chaney Johnson’s 3-pointer.
Pettiford, Miles Kelly and Jahki Howard each hit 3-pointers down the stretch that either tied the score or gave Auburn the lead.
After the Gamecocks went ahead 63-62 on a layup with 5:18 to play, Auburn shut out South Carolina the rest of the game, forcing misses on the Gamecocks’ last six field goals.
With the shot clock winding down, Pettiford drove and dished to Cardwell for a dunk that gave Auburn a one-point lead with 1:32 remaining.
“You have to make something happen,” Pettiford said. “I got to the rim, I saw a gap so I tried to get the ball through that gap to get it to Cap (Cardwell) because I knew he was open. It was a really tough one. They gave us a battle. You’ve got to be able to face adversity.”
Cardwell blocked a shot to preserve Auburn’s lead before fouling out with 9 seconds left. South Carolina’s Nick Pringle missed both free throws, forcing the Gamecocks to foul. Pettiford made a pair from the free-throw line to put Auburn up by three.
“I work on my free throws every single day,” Pettiford said. “I know I put up enough of those so I know I’m prepared for the moment. My teammates and my coaches have trust in me in those type of moments, so I feel there’s no pressure.”
The Gamecocks missed a desperation 3-pointer that would’ve sent the game to overtime.
“It’s life on the road. Give South Carolina tremendous credit,” Pearl said. “The key was not fouling them and making them make tough twos. Our guards did a phenomenal job with great effort and energy of getting through screens. We stayed solid and gave ourselves a chance, which is what you want to do on the road.
“In the second half, they only scored 23 points. They were on pace to score 80. That was the difference in the game, our guys finding a way.”
Pettiford led Auburn with 15 points and Kelly added 14 points and six rebounds. Cardwell scored six points, grabbed seven rebounds, blocked three shots and made two assists.
“Dylan’s defense, his physicality, his rebounding, his poise,” Pearl said of Cardwell. “Tremendous.”
Kelly’s 3-pointer gave Auburn a 20-11 lead with 12:55 to play in the first half but Murray-Boyles helped turn South Carolina’s nine-point deficit into a nine-point lead.
Murray-Boyle scored 18 points in the first half, finishing with a game-high 25. The Gamecocks outrebounded Auburn in the first half 21-14, converting 11 offensive rebounds into 11 second-chance points.
Broome’s steal led to Pettiford’s layup cut the Gamecocks’ lead to 40-34 at the half.
Auburn (15-1, 3-0) returns to Neville Arena to host No. 14 Mississippi State Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer