Auburn University’s men’s basketball team lost a close game to No. 23 Georgia, 104-100 in overtime, during their Southeastern Conference (SEC) opener at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens on Saturday.
Auburn managed to force overtime with a dramatic finish in regulation, scoring four points in the final second. With five seconds left and trailing by four, Keyshawn Hall was fouled while attempting a three-pointer. He made two free throws and intentionally missed the third, which Kevin Overton rebounded and converted into a baseline jumper as time expired, tying the game at 92.
“This is the first time we showed ourselves that if you just keep playing, you’ll be okay, no matter the score,” Overton said. “It shows that we have fight. It gives me hope that we have a chance to do something special.”
In overtime, Overton tied the game with a layup and then hit a three-pointer to give Auburn a brief lead. Elyjah Freeman extended Auburn’s advantage with a free throw before Georgia responded with seven consecutive points, including two three-pointers from Jeremiah Wilkinson who led all scorers with 31 points.
“Disappointing result,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “It’s hard to win on the road but we put ourselves in positions in a lot of ways to win this game against a ranked opponent. Just came up short.”
Pearl also addressed defensive concerns: “You’ve got to have a little bit of pride in not letting those guards go for 31 and 24,” he said about Wilkinson and Marcus Millender (24 points). “It’s not the 3s I’m as concerned about. I’m more concerned about the one-on-one drives where they get into the paint. My biggest challenge for our guys is we have to have more of an identity in our one-on-one defense.”
Auburn had another chance late but turned over the ball with five seconds remaining after closing within two points on Hall’s layup.
The contest featured eleven lead changes and neither team held a double-digit advantage throughout. The Tigers outrebounded Georgia by fifteen (50-35), despite Georgia being among the top ten nationally in rebounding statistics this season.
“This team (Georgia) is top 10 in the nation in rebounding, and we outrebounded them by 15,” Pearl said. “Filip was a phenomenal spark off the bench. He was plus-5 in plus-minus, did a lot of really good things for us. Filip is incredibly effective in those areas because he plays hard. We need more of that. His identity is to play hard and to win.”
Tahaad Pettiford led Auburn with 25 points before fouling out late; Hall scored 20; Overton added 19; Freeman contributed 14; Murphy had twelve; Filip Jovic recorded his first career double-double with ten points and ten rebounds before fouling out during overtime.
Auburn struggled converting opportunities near the basket and at the free-throw line—missing seventeen layups and twelve free throws—while Georgia center Somto Cyril blocked five shots.
With this victory, Georgia improved its record to 13-1 overall (1-0 SEC), extended its home winning streak to ten games, and ended Auburn’s five-game series win streak against them.
Saturday’s matchup set new records for both programs: it was their highest-scoring meeting ever (204 combined points), surpassing their previous record set in January 1972 when they totaled 192 points.
The Tigers’ next game will be their SEC home opener against Texas A&M on Tuesday at Auburn Arena.
