AUBURN, Ala. – No. 22 Auburn treated fans to the Key & Free Show Tuesday at Neville Arena.
Keyshawn Hall and Elyjah Freeman combined for 41 points to lead the Tigers to a 93-62 win over Wofford, helping Auburn score at least 93 points for the third straight game.
“Good to be 3-0. We had some real step-up from some from our guys tonight. Keyshawn Hall gets better every single game,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “There were some positives. Great teams are going to play hard for 40 minutes. I thought we played really hard for about 30, so we’ve got to put a complete game together to beat the best teams on our schedule.”
Hall flirted with a triple-double, totaling 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to log his second consecutive double-double while adding three blocked shots and two steals, tallying a team-best plus-32 and making all three of his 3-point attempts.
Leading by 18 at the half, Tahaad Pettiford opened the second half with a 3-pointer. Kevin Overton hit back-to-back 3s to push Auburn’s lead to 32 points early in the second half.
Freeman scored a game-high 21 points, grabbed five rebounds and added three assists. Overton scored 13 points while Pettiford contributed nine points, five assists, four rebounds and a team-best three blocked shots.
Auburn’s freshman trio of Kaden Magwood, Sebastian Williams-Adams and Filip Jovic teamed up for 24 points and nine rebounds while making 10 of 14 shots from the field.
Hall and Freeman both reached the 20-point mark down the stretch, with Hall ending his night emphatically with a steal and slam.
For the second straight game, Auburn enjoyed a huge rebounding advantage, outrebounding Wofford 48-27, making the Tigers plus-52 on the boards in their last two games.
“That’s the separator in what we talk about wins games,” Overton said. “Rebounding is something we’ve been trying to emphasize and get better at.”
“It’s good to see improvement in that area,” Pearl said. “You’ve got to buckle your chin straps because Houston is a whole different animal. They play with a different level of physicality.”
In the first half, Hall scored 11 consecutive Auburn points with a pair of 3-pointers, a 3-point-play and two free throws, helping the Tigers take a 17-8 lead.
“He has great spurtability,” Pearl said. “He’s the first Auburn player to start the season with three 20-point games since K.T. (Harrell) in 2014. He can score on all three levels, and there aren’t a lot of guys in college basketball who can do that with the consistency that he’s done it. He’s done a great job of leading by example.”
Hall filled the box score in the first half with 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists, leading or tying for the team lead in all three categories.
Freeman took over from there, matching Hall with 13 first-half points.
“All week, we’ve been prepping on getting to the rim, attacking their bigs,” Freeman said. “I was trying to get our team going.”
Wofford launched 16 3-pointers in the first half, hoping to keep pace, but the Terriers made only two as Auburn built a 40-22 halftime lead.
The Tigers (3-0) travel to Birmingham to play No. 1 Houston Sunday at 2 p.m. CT in The Battleground 2K25 at Legacy Arena on ESPN and the Auburn Sports Network.
“We’re ready to prep for them, get our bodies right and looking forward to Sunday,” Freeman said.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer