INDIANAPOLIS – When Auburn had to have it, Kevin Overton came through.
KO knocked out Tulsa in the NIT championship game, hitting a game-tying 3-pointer with eight seconds left in regulation to send it to overtime, where Overton hit a 40-footer to lead Auburn to a 92-86 victory Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“Trusting my work. My teammates trust me to make shots. I try to do what I can for these guys,” said Overton, the Most Outstanding Player of the National Invitation Tournament. “We’ve been here before. Everybody stayed composed. We were focused.”
Playing in the NIT final for the first time, Auburn built a big lead, lost it, rallied frantically in the final seconds, then won in OT despite being without two key players.
“I’m really proud of these kids. They found a way to stay together and beat five pretty good teams,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “I’m incredibly grateful to these guys. They could’ve packed it up and they didn’t. These are unbelievable young men with great character from great families. I’m incredibly honored and proud to be their coach.
“They showed they love their university. They love Auburn and they played for Auburn. They showed a ton of resilience. They showed what Auburn men are all about. It’s a great way to end the season.”
Undersized in overtime with Keyshawn Hall and Filip Jovic having fouled out, Auburn went ahead on a pair of free throws from Sebastian Williams-Adams with 3:31 left.
With the Tigers leading by two, Overton launched from at least 15 beyond the 3-point line, swishing the deepest of 3s to give Auburn an 89-84 lead with 2:06 to go.
“Heat check,” Overton said. “I felt like that was a normal shot for me all year. I shot it and it went in.”
Overton and Elyjah Freeman, who led Auburn with 14 rebounds, combined for three free throws in the final 40 seconds of overtime to secure the NIT championship for the Tigers.
“Tulsa made a tremendous run,” Pearl said. “We stayed resilient. We didn’t give up, pushed that thing to overtime and played overtime with five guards. They pushed through and they found a way.”
Overton led Auburn with 26 points, making 5 of 8 3-pointers. Tahaad Pettiford scored 24 points and had a game-high eight assists.
“We stayed together,” Pettiford said. “We needed stops, we had to break them down and that’s what we did in overtime.”
Hall had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, Williams-Adams scored 13 points and Jovic added a dozen points.
Leading by 17 points at the half, Hall made a 3-pointer and Jovic hit a pair of layups to give Auburn a 20-point lead with 17:34 to play.
After Overton’s jumper, Tulsa used a 12-0 run to pull within six points with 12:18 to play.
With Hall on the bench with four fouls, Tulsa outrebounded the Tigers 19-17 in the second half.
The Golden Hurricane hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the Tigers’ lead to two points with 11:14 remaining.
Tulsa outscored Auburn 22-2 in a five-minute span to take its first lead midway through the second half.
The Golden Hurricane went ahead by four before Auburn reclaimed the lead when Overton’s 3-pointer capped a 6-0 run with 4:18 to play.
Leading by two, Tulsa made a steal and hit a 3-pointer to lead 76-71 with 1:05 left on the clock.
After Pettiford’s 3-pointer cut Tulsa’s lead to two, Jovic fouled out and the Golden Hurricane made a pair of free throws to lead 78-74 with 18 seconds left.
Freeman grabbed an offensive rebound, drew a foul, missed his first free throw but made his second to pull Auburn within three points with 8.5 seconds left.
Auburn forced a five-second violation when Tulsa failed to inbound, then Pettiford found Overton in the corner for his dramatic shot.
“A regular play we have,” Overton said. “I was prepared for it. He gave me the ball and I was ready for the moment and I knocked it down.”
Tulsa missed its chance to win in regulation, sending the teams to overtime tied 78-78.
Pettiford and Overton combined for 29 first-half points to help the Tigers take control from the opening tip.
Pettiford and Williams-Adams hit 3-pointers to give Auburn a 12-point lead just six minutes into the game.
The Tigers held Tulsa to 1-of-10 3-point shooting in the opening half, taking away the foundation of the Golden Hurricane offense.
“Our guys were really locked into the gameplan,” Pearl said. “Did a really good job of running them off the 3-point line and making their catches difficult. We turned them over a good bit in the first half.”
Pettiford’s third 3-pointer of the half gave Auburn a 21-point lead with 7:45 remaining.
“I wanted to set the tone early for my team and let the other team know we’re here to play,” Pettiford said. “I’m happy I was able to get off to that start.”
With Hall, Overton and Freeman on the bench with two fouls, Tulsa made four layups and pulled within 13 before Overton made a 3-pointer and Pettiford passed to Williams-Adams for a dunk to help Auburn take a 48-31 halftime lead.
Facing double teams, Filip Jovic had four first-half assists to go along with eight points and three rebounds.
Hall nearly singlehandedly outrebounded Tulsa, grabbing eight boards to help Auburn build a 19-11 rebounding advantage.
David Green led Tulsa (30-8) with 25 points.
Auburn concludes Pearl’s first season with a 22-16 record and the first NIT championship in program history.
“It’s an opportunity to gain some positive momentum going into an important offseason,” Pearl said. “I’m thankful that they’re getting some reward for all that effort they put into this season. They stayed consistent, they stayed right. We have a really good basketball team, and I feel like we showed that over these last five games. I want the Auburn family to remember this group for their resilience, their toughness and their ability to stay together.
“It’s a group that really appreciated what the Auburn family gave to them. They wanted to do the fanbase and the university proud, and I feel like they did that over the last couple weeks.”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer