Overton, Hall lead No. 20 Auburn over NC State in ACC/SEC Challenge

AUBURN, Ala. – In the 75th consecutive Neville Arena sellout, Kevin Overton scored a career-high 29 points and Keyshawn Hall added 28 to lead No. 20 Auburn to an 83-73 victory over NC State Wednesday in the ACC/SEC Challenge.

“I want to thank our fans, our students. Another sellout. Incredibly grateful for their support,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “We’re so fortunate to be at Auburn and have a fanbase that continuously shows up.”

Hall and Overton combined to make 11 3-pointers on 16 attempts as Auburn used hot shooting (59.1 percent) to overcome an epidemic of 20 turnovers. The Tiger tandem combined for 57 of Auburn’s 83 points and 34 of 42 in the second half.

“Give Hall and Overton credit,” said NC State coach Will Wade. “They’re great players and they did a great job tonight. We knew coming in that Overton had the ability to go off. We let him get going.”

Overton made 8 of 13 shots, including 6 of 9 3-pointers, tied his career high with nine rebounds and did not commit any turnovers in 37 minutes.

“Trying to be aggressive,” Overton said. “Second half was just a flow state and making shots. I was trying to be smart and not be lackadaisical. I think I threw a few (passes) that should have been turnovers.”

Hall logged his fourth double-double of the season, adding 10 rebounds while making 9 of 14 shots and 5 of 7 3-pointers.

“He gave me the confidence,” Hall said of Overton. “They started guarding him, so I said I’ve got a blueprint for making shots all year.”

Leading by six at the half, Overton’s 3-point play gave Auburn an 11-point lead before NC State answered with a 9-0 run that included a trio of Tiger turnovers.

Overton hit a late-clock 3-pointer, his fourth of the game, to restore the Tigers’ six-point lead. 

“Our offense has got to get better,” Pearl said. “If it weren’t for tough shot making by KO and Keyshawn Hall, we don’t win that game. Two of our best players bailed us out. Our defense really saved us. I’m proud of our effort. Really proud of KO. He stepped up in an environment when we needed him.”

Hall made three 3s in less than two minutes while scoring 11 straight Auburn points to extend the Tigers’ lead to a dozen.

The Special Ks continued to one-up each other from distance, with Overton hitting two more before Hall made his fourth 3-pointer of the second half for an 80-68 Auburn lead with 3:35 to play, and the Tigers led by at least seven the rest of the way.

Hall got the game off to a good start for Auburn with a steal and three free throws. 

NC State took advantage of the Tigers’ uncharacteristic carelessness, turning four quick Auburn turnovers into a 9-0 run.

Auburn used scorching shooting to retake the lead, making nine straight shots during a 17-2 run that gave the Tigers a 12-point lead, leading to a Wade timeout with 9:23 left in the half.

The Wolfpack capitalized on another rash of Tiger turnovers to score 13 unanswered points while taking a one-point lead. 

Overton regained the lead for Auburn with a pair of free throws before his third 3-pointer helped the Tigers take a 41-35 halftime lead.

Auburn (7-2) heads West for the second straight week to play No. 2 Arizona Saturday at 9 p.m. CT in Tucson on ESPN and the Auburn Sports Network. 

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

GAME NOTES

• Auburn started Tahaad Pettiford, Kevin Overton, KeShawn Murphy, Elyjah Freeman and Keyshawn Hall for the fourth straight game and the fifth time this season.
• Auburn is 2-1 in the ACC/SEC Challenge with victories over Virginia Tech in 2023 and NC State on Wednesday night.
• Wednesday night was the 75th consecutive sellout at Neville Arena (9,121).
• Auburn has won 63 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents.
• Auburn led 41-35 at halftime and is 5-0 this season when leading at half.
• Auburn was led by a career-high 29 points from Kevin Overton and a season-high-tying 28 points from Keyshawn Hall. The duo combined to shoot 17-of-27 from the floor, including 11-of-16 from 3-point range, and 12-of-12 from the free throw line to go with 19 rebounds.
• Overton and Hall are the first Tiger teammates to score at least 25 points in the same game since Bryce Brown (26) and Jared Harper (25) against Xavier in the 2018 Maui Invitational.
• Overton shot 8-of-13 overall, 6-of-9 from long range, and 7-of-7 from the foul line in 37 minutes.
• Hall recorded his 17th career double-double and his fourth this season as he pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds in the victory. He shot 9-of-14 from the floor, 5-of-7 from deep and 5-of-5 from the foul line. It is Hall’s sixth 20-point game of the season and his fourth with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.
• Pettiford blocked a career-high four shots on the night, giving him 10 blocks on the season, which is three more blocked shots than he had all of last season as a freshman. 
  Auburn shot 59.1 percent (26-of-44) overall, which is the second-best mark of the season and 54.5 percent (12-of-22) from long range for the game, including 59.1 percent (13-of-22) overall and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from deep in the second half.
• The Tigers’ 12 3-pointers are one off their season high of 13 3-point field goals against Jackson State. Auburn has shot at least 50.0 percent in four straight home games and is shooting 53.5 percent in five games at Neville Arena this season.
• Auburn shot a season-best 86.4 percent (19-of-22) from the free throw, including making its first 14 attempts on the night. The Tigers have shot 85.1 percent (40-of-47) from the charity stripe in the last two games.