NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Kevin Overton excelled at both ends of the floor, scoring 22 points while locking up Josh Hubbard on defense to lead Auburn to a 79-61 victory over Mississippi State Wednesday in the opening round of the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena.
“We obviously needed that one,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “I thought that was as good as our defense has played in a while. As the second half went on, we got into a little bit more of a rhythm and were able to increase that lead. The guys did a great job of responding and beating a good team that knocked us off a few weeks ago.”
Overton made six 3-pointers, adding five assists, four rebounds and zero turnovers in 36 minutes while holding Hubbard to 8-of-25 shooting.
“I was just trying to do my job on the ball,” Overton said. “That was the gameplan and I tried to execute it. We were struggling to make some shots so I was trying to stay aggressive, stay confident and they fell.”
KeShawn Murphy scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, grabbed nine rebounds and added four steals, two assists and two blocked shots to amass a stunning plus-28 stat line against his former team.
“It was important to me,” Murphy said. “The coaches were telling me to be who you are and do what you do. That played a big role in my start to finish.”
Keyshawn Hall scored 14 points, Tahaad Pettiford added 13 while tying Overton with five assists, and Elyjah Freeman grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
“My shot wasn’t really falling today. I couldn’t really find it on offense, so I had to affect the game in any kind of way,” said Freeman, who led Auburn with three offensive rebounds and made two of the Tigers’ 10 steals. “Helping our team get extra possessions on offense and rebounding on defense so we can push the break was something I looked forward to in the second half.”
Trailing by three at the half, Auburn fell behind by eight 35 seconds into the second half before the Tigers evened the score at 38-38 with an 8-0 run.
Overton put Auburn ahead with a pair of 3-pointers during another 8-0 run that led to a Bulldogs timeout with the Tigers leading 46-40 with 14:57 to play.
After Murphy beat the shot clock with a jumper, Overton splashed his fifth 3-pointer to cap a 13-0 run that gave Auburn a 51-40 lead, part of a 21-2 Tigers scoring spurt.
Pettiford’s 3-pointer and Freeman’s steal and slam gave Auburn a 12-point lead with 11:03 to play.
State quickly cut the lead in half with a pair of 3-pointers, then pulled within three on Hubbard’s three-point play for a 9-0 Bulldogs run.
Pettiford answered for Auburn with a steal and layup, drawing a foul and making a free throw for a 59-53 Tigers lead with 8:13 remaining, perhaps the game’s most pivotal sequence.
Auburn missed its next four shots and Hubbard made a layup to again draw State within three points with 5:26 to play.
From there, Auburn outscored State 19-4 to secure the victory, outpacing the Bulldogs 49-28 in the second half.
Murphy passed to Freeman on a backdoor cut for a slam, then Overton found Hall for a transition 3-pointer to give Auburn a 65-57 lead with 4:28 to go, Overton’s fifth assist.
“KO was hot the whole game, so it says a lot that he tried to get me going,” Hall said. “He gave it up to me and it all worked out. That shows us as a team right there.”
Hall made three free throws, Overton hit his final 3-pointer and Murphy scored on a drive for a game-clinching 8-0 run.
“I just need to win,” Overton said. “I don’t think any performance individually would make me feel better than knowing we got the win.”
Murphy scored Auburn’s first seven points but picked up his second foul after drawing a technical after making a 3-pointer, heading to the bench less than two minutes into the game.
After State erased Auburn’s early five-point lead and went ahead by two, Sebastian Williams-Adams hit a 3-pointer to put the Tigers on top 17-12.
Overton made a 3-pointer that gave Auburn a one-point lead with eight minutes left in the half, but the Tigers went cold from there, going more than six minutes between field goals.
Hubbard scored 13 points in the first half but it took him 14 shots to do so. The SEC’s second leading scorer made a 3-pointer and a jumper to give the Bulldogs a 10-point lead with 2:34 left in the half.
Three weeks after scoring a career-high 46 points against Auburn, Hubbard led State (13-19) with 22 points while making 2 of 8 3-pointers, eight fewer than in the teams’ first meeting.
“We did a really good job of making him shoot more long-distance twos and contesting his shots,” Pearl said. “The guys did a good job on their guards, limiting what they do well, and did a pretty good job finishing possessions.”
Pettiford hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining and Auburn ended the half on a 7-0 run to trail 33-30 at intermission.
Auburn (17-15) will play fifth-seeded Tennessee Thursday at 2 p.m. CT, with the winner advancing to Friday’s quarterfinals to play fourth-seeded Vanderbilt.
“They punked us the first time,” Pearl said. “They’re going to challenge your toughness and you’ve got to respond. You’ve got to answer the bell. Tomorrow is going to be a fight. Our guys have to step up to the challenge and show a different level of toughness this time around to beat a really good Tennessee team.”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer