Auburn basketball wasted no time giving the Tiger faithful a nail-biting finish on the hardwood.
But in head coach Steven Pearl's unofficial debut at the Ballin’ in Boutwell exhibition event at Boutwell Auditorium, the Tigers fell short in overtime, 97-95, to Oklahoma State.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the exhibition:
Gutsy finish from the Tigers, OT efforts fall short
Auburn turned a six-point deficit with under three minutes to go into a tie ball game at 85 apiece to send it to overtime.
Keyshawn Hall scored the Tigers’ three final field goals in regulation and added a free throw, ultimately sending it to overtime. But Auburn’s efforts in the final stanza came up short as Oklahoma State came out of the gates with a trey from Anthony Roy and a 2-point basket from Isaiah Coleman.
After cutting the deficit to two, the trifecta of Coleman, Roy and Jalen Curry put the finishing touches on the Tigers with a pair of layups and a trey.
Auburn had a chance for a last-second shot coming out of its final timeout, but failed to get a clean look with Overton missing a contested floater.
Cold stretches, but offense will be fine
It wasn’t a great night for Auburn from the field, as it shot 36% and went 8-of-27 from deep.
But it was apparent that Auburn has immense talent and can score the ball. Hall led the Tigers with 26 points and possesses elite playmaking ability from the four spot. He also added eight boards. After a second-half surge, Elijah Freeman showed why he was a standout at the Division II level and led the Tigers in the second half with 10 points.
And, of course, Tahaad Pettiford is still an elite scorer, pouring in 17 points with a 7-of-9 mark from the charity stripe, though the two misses came in a 5-point overtime deficit.
Four Tigers finished with double-digit points, with Kevin Overton adding 15.
Auburn gets ‘big-boyed’ down low
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And it was evident that Auburn was missing its duo of big men on the defensive side of the court.
Oklahoma State had its way with the Tigers on the inside, scoring 49% of its points down low. The Cowboys finished the night with a +9 rebound advantage, controlling the glass 52-43.
Oklahoma State’s Coleman went for 28 points on nine field goals. Eight of them came in the painted area. Curry and Roy combined for 51 points, with Roy pouring in five 3-pointers.
All three Cowboys finished with 20+ points. Roy tied Coleman’s mark with 28 points.
Auburn will take on Memphis in one last tune-up spot on October 30 in State Farm Arena in Atlanta at 7:30 p.m. CT. The regular season begins on November 30 in Neville Arena against Bethune-Cookman.
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