No. 20 Auburn beats Bethune-Cookman in OT to launch Steven Pearl era

AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn began the Steven Pearl era with a KO Monday at Neville Arena, as in Kevin Overton.

The Texas Tech transfer made two steals in the final minute of regulation and another in overtime to help Auburn defeat Bethune-Cookman 95-90 in OT in Tipoff on the Plains, giving Pearl his first win as head coach. 

“I’m proud of how we responded late. Our guys stayed locked in and focused. In overtime, our guys did a great job of making plays. We made free throws when it counted,” said Pearl, whose team presented him the game ball in the locker room. “It’s good to learn from these games with a win as opposed to a loss, but we’ve got a long way to go. 

“I’m thrilled we found a way to get the win, but my mind is immediately going to all the film I’m going to be watching tonight and trying to find ways to get better.”

Fellow newcomer Keyshawn Hall led Auburn with 28 points, including 16 of 18 free throws. KeShawn Murphy added 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 20 minutes. Overton scored 13 points and made a game-high four steals.

“We were prepared for the moment, nobody folded,” Murphy said. “Hats off to Coach Pearl, many more wins to come, many more things to learn.”

After freshman Sebastian Williams-Adam tied the score at 75-75 with 1:21 to play, Overton made two steals and scored four points on a turnaround jumper and a pair of free throws to put Auburn up four with 13 seconds to go.

“The four steals were him going out and making plays,” Pearl said. “I’m proud of KO. He had a lot of step-up late.”

Bethune-Cookman’s Arterio Morris made it a one-point game with five seconds remaining, then after hit a pair of Auburn free throws, the Tigers fouled Morris as he attempted a desperation 3-pointer from near halfcourt.

The former McDonald’s All-American, who had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, made all three free throws to send the game to overtime.

Bethune-Cookman scored the first points of OT on a putback, but Hall answered for Auburn with a 3-point play. 

Hall gave Auburn the lead for good with a pair of free throws, then Overton made another steal and scored in transition, and the Tigers led by at least two points the rest of the way.

“Good players make good plays,” Murphy said of Overton’s defensive wizardry. “KO wanted to step up and make good plays for the team when it was necessary for the win.”

Hall scored half of Auburn’s 14 overtime points, going 5-for-5 from the free-throw line after making 9 of 10 from the line in the second half. 

In his collegiate debut, Wiliams-Adams scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds. 

“Our team was battled tested, trusting each other,” Williams-Adams said. “Credit to Bethune-Cookman. They gave us the adversity we needed at this point of the season.”

Pettiford led Auburn with five assists, adding 11 points.  Elyjah Freeman added nine points and eight rebounds. 

Leading by one point at the half, Freeman capped an 8-0 run with a Eurostep slam to give Auburn a six-point lead with 11:37 to play, drawing the loudest cheers to that point.

The Wildcats responded as the lead changed hands 10 times down the stretch, making 6 of 8 3-pointers in the second half while amassing 44 points in the paint on the night. 

Pettiford and Williams-Adams each scored eight points in the first half to help Auburn take a 38-37 halftime lead. 

Pettiford hit the season’s first 3-pointer to give Auburn an early lead. Williams-Adams’ catch-and-shoot 3 gave Auburn its biggest lead of the half, 28-23, with 5:37 to play. 

Bethune-Cookman answered with a late 5-0 run before Pettiford gave the Tigers their one-point advantage in the final minute of the half. 

“A ton of credit to Bethune-Cookman,” Pearl said. “Their coaches did a phenomenal job. They had us off balance early. The zone gets you stagnant and standing.”

Auburn could’ve enjoyed a larger cushion if not for nine missed free throws on 16 attempts in the first half, a miscue the Tigers corrected in the second half and overtime by going 20 of 22 from the line.

The Tigers (1-0) remain at Neville Arena Thursday at 7 p.m. CT, hosting Merrimack on SEC Network+ and the Auburn Sports Network. 

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

GAME NOTES

• Monday night marks the 71st consecutive sellout at Neville Arena (9,121).
• Auburn used the starting lineup of Tahaad Pettiford, Kevin Overton, Elyjah Freeman, Keyshawn Hall and Filip Jovic. It is the first time Auburn has started four newcomers in a season opener since Jabari Smith Jr., Walker Kessler, Wendell Green Jr. and Zep Jasper started the 2021-22 opener against Morehead State. It is the second career start for Pettiford after he started one game last season as a freshman.
• Eight players made their Auburn debuts including Overton, Freeman, Hall, Jovic, Abdulla Bashir, Keyshawn Murphy, Kaden Magwood and Sebastian Williams-Adams. It was the collegiate debut for Magwood and Williams-Adams.
• Steven Pearl leads Auburn to a victory in his first game as the Tigers head coach, but Pearl is officially 2-0 as a head coach after being Auburn’s acting head coach in a 70-44 victory over North Alabama in Neville Arena on Dec. 14, 2021.
• Auburn improves to 4-0 against Bethune-Cookman all-time with all four victories coming at home.
• Auburn improves to 88-32 in season openers all-time, including winning 14 of the last 15.
• Auburn made 20-of-22 free throws after halftime, including making all six attempts from the foul line in overtime, to finish the night 27-of-38 from the charity stripe.
• Auburn scored 19 second-chance points on 15 offensive rebounds as the Tigers outrebounded Bethune-Cookman, 40-33.
• Auburn finished the night with 32 bench points and 48 points in the paint.
• The last two games in Neville Arena have gone to overtime after Auburn and Alabama played an extra period to end the regular season last season.
• Auburn placed five players in double figures led by Hall with a game-high 28 points in 38 minutes. He scored 17 points in the second half and seven of the Tigers’ 14 points in overtime. It is his 27th career 20-point game. Hall finished the game 16-of-18 from the free throw line, which is two made free throws behind Sharife Cooper’s school record of 18 made free throws against Missouri in 2021. With his first bucket of the game, Hall reached 1,200 career points after scoring 1,198 points in his first three seasons. He added five rebounds and an assist in the victory.
• Murphy scored 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including making his only 3-point attempt, to go with eight rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal in 20 minutes. It is his 28th career game in double figures.
• Williams-Adams chipped in with 15 points, and he added six rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal in 29 minutes in his first collegiate action.
• Overton scored 13 points to go with a career-high four steals, including two in the final 51 seconds of regulation and one in overtime, two rebounds, one assist and one block in 34 minutes. It is his 31st career game in double figures.
• Pettiford finished recorded his 23rd career game in double figures with 11 points, five assists, one rebound, one block and one steal in a career-high 38 minutes.