Auburn defeated South Alabama 78-67 on Mar. 17 in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament, led by Kevin Overton’s standout performance in the second half.
The win allows Auburn to advance to the second round, where they will host Seattle this weekend, with the date and time to be announced Wednesday night. The victory is significant as it marks Auburn’s sixth consecutive win over South Alabama and gives Head Coach Steven Pearl the most wins by a first-year head coach in Auburn program history.
After trailing at halftime, Auburn turned things around with a strong shooting display. Overton, who missed all five of his three-point attempts in the first half, made seven out of eight from beyond the arc after intermission and finished with 21 points. “We did a better job in the second half of knocking down shots,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “The last 25 minutes, our guys did a good job of locking in and found a way to win the game.” Overton added, “The shots were falling in the second half. In the first half I was trying to find that rhythm. When you make those simple ones, the other ones become easier.”
Kaden Magwood contributed off the bench with a career-high 14 points, making three out of five three-pointers in the second half. Pearl said about Magwood: “Kaden played great off the bench in the second half, had a lot of step-up… Kaden’s been really good in practice, he’s stayed right and stayed ready. He’s been the best player on our scout team. I wanted to give him an opportunity, and he did a great job of taking advantage of it.” Tahaad Pettiford added 11 points while Elyjah Freeman grabbed ten rebounds for Auburn.
South Alabama coach Richie Riley acknowledged Auburn’s effort: “They did a nice job of hurting us on the glass, their size and athleticism… Overton stepped up in the second half and made some tough ones, some deep ones. He made some really big ones.” Chaze Harris led South Alabama with 29 points.
Auburn tied a school record with 44 three-point attempts against South Alabama’s zone defense and made a season-high sixteen triples overall. With this win giving them their eighteenth victory this season under Pearl’s leadership, observers will watch how far Auburn can progress as they continue their NIT campaign.
