NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tahaad Pettiford scored 28 points and Auburn led by 10 points with 10 minutes to play but fifth-seeded No. 25 Tennessee scored 20 consecutive points to defeat Auburn 72-62 Thursday at Bridgestone Arena in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
“I thought their physicality really bothered offensively in the second half and we let it affect our defense as the game went on,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “Proud of my guys for how hard they fought all year. The guys battled, did a lot of really good things.”
After scoring half of Auburn’s 32 first-half points to give the Tigers a seven-point halftime lead, Pettiford picked where he left off, making a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the second half to put Auburn ahead by 10.
“My shots were falling and my teammates were finding me,” said Pettiford, who made 5 of 10 3-pointers. “We had a good rhythm in the first half, getting stops we needed.”
Sebastian Williams-Adams grabbed Auburn’s 11th offensive rebound and assisted Keyshawn Hall for a layup that gave the Tigers a 16-4 edge in second-chance points at that point.
Pettiford hit the 25-point mark with a right-handed bank shot for a 51-41 Auburn lead with 10:26 to play, but the Tigers would go 6 minutes and 36 seconds before scoring again thanks to an untimely combination of turnovers, missed shots and difficulty finishing through ample contact.
“Any time a team goes on a run, we think we can put a stop to it,” Pettiford said. “Basketball is a game of runs; they got it at the right time and got hot. They switched up their defense and disrupted us. Our shots weren’t falling like they were in the first half.”
Tennessee’s standout freshman Nate Ament took over from there, scoring eight straight points to help the Volunteers tie the score at 51-51 with 7:32 to play.
After Auburn missed a transition layup, Tennessee took the lead for good on a free throw with 6:30 remaining.
The Volunteers scored on a putback, then stretched their lead to 58-51 on Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s steal and layup, and a pair of Ament free throws.
Tennessee made it a 20-0 run on a lob and a free throw to lead 61-51 before Pettiford ended the drought with a 3-pointer.
“Their physicality really bothered us. We didn’t do a good job of finishing around the rim,” Pearl said. “We had some sloppy turnovers in that run too that led to points in transition.”
Ament made 4 of 6 3-pointers and 9 of 13 free throws to score a team-high 27 points for Tennessee (21-10), which advances to Friday’s quarterfinals to play fourth-seeded Vanderbilt.
After Hall’s 3-point play pulled Auburn within six points with 1:34 to play, the Tigers got a stop but missed a 3-point attempt that would’ve made a three-point game with more than a minute left.
Hall scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds to share the team lead with Elyjah Freeman. Kevin Overton scored nine points, KeShawn Murhpy added eight and Williams-Adams had seven points and seven rebounds.
After falling behind 7-2, Auburn went on a 13-0 run that featured 3-pointers from Pettiford and Hall, positioning the Tigers to lead for the final 15 minutes of the half.
Auburn beat the Volunteers at their own game by turning seven offensive rebounds into a 10-2 advantage in second-chance points in the half, ultimately outrebounding Tennessee 40-39.
A Freeman offensive board led to a corner 3-pointer from Overton that put Auburn ahead 18-9.
The Tigers held onto the lead despite missing eight straight shots.
Pettiford scored 10 of his 16 first-half points in the final 7:25, including a pair of 3-pointers, the second of which he banked in with the shot clock expiring to give Auburn an 11-point lead.
The Volunteers scored the last four points of the half to trim the Tigers’ lead to 32-25 at intermission.
“That was one of our best efforts defensively of the season in the first half, Pearl said. “We did a great job of executing and did a lot of things that were really effective in the first half. In the second half, they shot 27 free throws and did a good job of attacking the rim.”
Auburn (17-16) will hope for good news on Selection Sunday, optimistic that its body of work and strength of schedule merit an invitation to the NCAA Tournament.
“The work we’ve put in every single day,” Pettiford said. “These guys are ready to play, and they want to make it into the tournament. If we get that chance, we’ve got to go show what we can do.”
“We deserve to be in the tournament,” Pearl said. “Our guys have some of the best wins in college basketball. It’s a team that can wins games in the tournament. I think they’ve done enough ultimately to have their name called on Selection Sunday.”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer