No. 1 Auburn wins at No. 23 Georgia, Pettiford scores 24

ATHENS, Ga. – Tahaad Pettiford scored a career-high 24 points and No. 1 Auburn survived No. 23 Georgia’s furious last-minute rally to win 70-68 Saturday at Stegeman Coliseum, the Tigers’ 10th consecutive victory.

“It’s tough to win on the road,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “It’s a great road win. There are a lot of things to learn from. We missed some free throws late which we haven’t done. Georgia’s going to beat almost everybody who comes in here. Proud of our ballclub.”

Pettiford made a pair of free throws to give Auburn a 69-60 lead with 41 seconds to play but the Bulldogs had two chances to tie in the final seconds. 

“Georgia’s a great team, especially at home,” Pettiford said after helping hand the Bulldogs their first home loss. “We knew they were going to give us everything they have.”

The Tigers missed two of three free-throw attempts while Georgia hit a 3-pointer and a pair of layups to pull within three with 9 seconds remaining. 

After an Auburn turnover, Georgia missed a game-tying 3-pointer, but the Bulldogs got the rebound, drew a foul and made the first free throw to pull within two points with less than a second to play.

Intentionally missing the second free throw, Georgia was awarded possession when the ball went out of bounds off Auburn with .3 seconds remaining. 

Asa Newell, who led Georgia with 16 points and 10 rebounds, missed a tip-in at the buzzer and Auburn escaped Athens with its program record-tying sixth ranked win of the season. 

Playing their second game without All-American Johni Broome, the Tigers outrebounded Georgia 39-38. Dylan Cardwell led the Tigers with seven rebounds, three assists, four blocked shots and two steals.

“We did not falter on the boards,” Pearl said. “We had 25 defensive rebounds; they had 12 offensive. That’s a ratio we certainly can live with and one we were concerned about going in.”

Leading by six at the half, Chad Baker-Mazara scored 10 second-half points to help the Tigers maintain their lead throughout. Baker-Mazara and Miles Kelly each scored 13 points.

Pettiford sparked Auburn off the bench with 15 first-half points, scoring 12 points during a 14-0 run on a trio of 3-pointers and three free throws, turning a one-point lead into a 15-point advantage. 

“We had a mindset to take over and be composed on defense, and that’s what helped us come out with the win,” said Pettiford, who made 5 of 7 3-point attempts. “Whatever I have to do to help my team win, if that’s making shots or getting stops on the defensive end, I was willing to do whatever.” 

“He’s a special player,” Pearl said. “Special players have to make special plays in tough circumstances.”

Auburn led by 17 after Ja’Heim Hudson’s layup with 8:28 remaining in the opening half before a 13-0 Georgia run. The Bulldogs pulled within one point late before Pettiford’s fourth 3-pointer helped the Tigers take a 33-27 halftime lead.  

Playing a season-high 18 minutes, Hudson contributed five points, three rebounds and two steals.

“I thought Ja’Heim Hudson did a phenomenal job stepping up and holding the fort down defensively,” Pearl said. “That’s what the team is all about.”

Without a midweek game, Auburn (17-1, 5-0) will have extra time to prepare for next Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. CT showdown with No. 6 Tennessee at Neville Arena.

“We’re going to prepare all week and we’ll be ready for Saturday,” Pettiford said. 

“We’ll work on us a little bit, then we’ll start getting ready for Tennessee toward the end of the week,” Pearl said. 

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer

POSTGAME NOTES

• With the win, Auburn leads 103-97 in the all-time series with Georgia. The Tigers have won 12 of the last 15 overall in the series, including the last four. They have won six of the last eight in Athens. Auburn’s four-game winning streak over the Bulldogs is the Tigers’ longest winning streak in the series since they won five straight from 2018-20.
• Auburn is now 14-7 against Georgia under head coach Bruce Pearl including 7-4 in Athens. Pearl is 24-10 against the Bulldogs overall including 10-2 at Tennessee and 0-1 at Milwaukee.
• Pearl is also 7-7 against Georgia head coach Mike White including 4-1 against Georgia under White and 3-6 while White was at Florida.
• Auburn is 2-0 against Georgia when ranked the No. 1 team in the country after the Tigers beat UGA, 74-72, in Athens in 2022. 
• The Tigers and Bulldogs have split a pair of games when both were ranked in the AP Poll after No. 19 Georgia beat 24th-ranked Auburn 85-79 on Jan. 25, 2003, in Athens, Ga.
• Auburn has defeated ranked opponents in consecutive games for the second time this season after the Tigers defeated No. 15 Mississippi State, 88-66, on Tuesday night. Auburn knocked off No. 5 Iowa State, 83-81, and No. 12 North Carolina, 85-72, in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the Maui Invitational.
• It marked the first time Auburn has beaten ranked SEC opponents in consecutive games since winning 94-84 at No. 23 Tennessee and 88-77 over No. 22 Arkansas to open SEC play in 2018. With the win, the Tigers match the 2018-19 Tigers’ school record with their sixth win over a ranked opponent of the season. Auburn has won seven of its last eight games against ranked opponents dating back to its win over No. 15 South Carolina in last year’s SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
• Auburn handed Georgia its first home loss this season (11-1). It was Auburn’s first road win over a ranked opponent since winning 81-77 at No. 24 Alabama in 2022.
• AU moves its winning streak to 10 games. It was the sixth time the Tigers have won at least 10-straight contests since the 2017-18 season and the first time since they won 11-straight games last season.
• Auburn captured its 10th Quad 1 win of the season which is a new SEC record (Alabama previously with 9 Quad 1 wins during the 2022-23 season).
• The Tigers improved to 17-1 on the season. It marked the fifth time in program history the Tigers have opened a season at least 17-1 and the first time since they started 22-1 during the 2021-22 season.
• Auburn is 5-0 in SEC play for the sixth time in program history and the third time in the last four seasons.
• AU is 3-0 in SEC road games this season. The Tigers join Alabama as the only teams in the league to win three league road games. Ole Miss can pick up its third SEC road win with a win at Mississippi State later today.
• Auburn went with the starting five of Denver Jones, Miles Kelly, Chad Baker-Mazara, Chaney Johnson and Dylan Cardwell for the second-straight game.
• Johnson started for the second-straight game and the fourth time in his two-year Auburn career. Jones, Baker-Mazara and Cardwell have started all 18 games this season.
• Auburn held an SEC opponent to 27 first-half points for the third time this season after doing so at Texas and against Mississippi State before doing so at Georgia on Saturday.
• Auburn went 10-of-23 from beyond the arc at Georgia. It was the 10th time the Tigers have made double-digit 3-pointers this season including the third time in SEC play.
• Freshman Tahaad Pettiford led Auburn with a career-high 24 points on 7-of-13 field goals, 5-of-7 from long range and 5-of-8 from the foul line to go with three rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win. Pettiford has scored in double figures in 11 of his first 18 career games including all seven of Auburn’s games against ranked opponents and all five SEC games. It was his third 20-point game as he is shooting 12-of-25 from deep in SEC play. Pettiford had a career-high 15 points in the first half including 4-of-5 3-pointers.
• Chad Baker-Mazara and Miles Kelly each scored 13 points in Auburn’s win. Baker-Mazara went 3-of-6 from 3-point range and added six rebounds, one assist and one steal against the Bulldogs. He scored eight-straight points to stretch a two-point lead to a 10-point advantage at 55-45 in the second half. Baker-Mazara is averaging 19.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in Auburn’s two wins at Georgia the last two years.
• Kelly went 4-of-8 from the floor at UGA. He pulled down five rebounds and recorded one steal. He is averaging 11.5 points in his career against Georgia and has scored in double figures in three of four career games against the Bulldogs after reaching double figures twice in three games against Georgia, while playing for Georgia Tech.