Tahaad Pettiford led Auburn to an 88-74 win over LSU on Senior Night at Neville Arena, scoring 27 points and contributing six assists, four steals, and two rebounds. Auburn coach Steven Pearl opened his postgame comments by thanking fans for their support during the late-night game.
“Great to get a win, great to send our seniors out on a right note,” said Pearl. “Defensively, we did a lot of good things early, and we were very in control offensively tonight, which makes a big difference.”
Auburn maintained a double-digit lead for much of the second half. Pettiford scored 17 points after halftime, including two quick three-pointers that extended Auburn’s lead to 11 points. He also delivered a notable dunk as part of an eight-point burst in less than two minutes.
“Team-wise, it feels amazing,” Pettiford said. “Trying to get that momentum to show the world what we can do.”
Pettiford added: “Do what we’ve got to do to win. Trying to get downhill, that’s what our coach preaches. I’ve been looking for that type of dunk all year, so I was glad to get it.”
Kevin Overton followed with 14 consecutive points for Auburn through three three-pointers, a layup and free throws.
“He hit some tough ones and he was feeling it tonight,” Pearl said about Overton. “I’m more pleased with what he did defensively. It was great to see him and Tahaad sit down and guard.”
Overton finished with 21 points; together with Pettiford they made eight out of thirteen shots from beyond the arc.
Keyshawn Hall contributed 17 points along with six rebounds and three assists while Elyjah Freeman had ten points and six rebounds.
With less than a minute left in the game and Auburn ahead by 17 points, Coach Pearl called timeout so senior walk-ons Reed Trapp and CJ Williams could enter the game.
Auburn took advantage of LSU’s turnovers in the first half—scoring ten unanswered points off turnovers—and led at halftime by seven. The team forced LSU into sixteen turnovers overall while only committing nine themselves.
“We were more active with our hands,” said Pearl. “We were more aggressive and in the right positions. When you play with great energy and activity like that, anything you do is going to work.”
The lead changed fourteen times before Hall’s layup put Auburn ahead late in the first half; Freeman then secured the lead for good with back-to-back three-pointers.
Michael Nwoko led LSU (15-15 overall) with nineteen points.
Auburn (16-14 overall) will finish its regular season against No. 16 Alabama on Saturday night before heading into SEC Tournament play.
“We have to carry that over to Saturday against a really high-powered offense and into the SEC Tournament,” Pearl said.
