After a sluggish, disjointed first half, top-seeded Auburn caught fire after the break, riding Kevin Overton’s hot hand to a 78-67 win over South Alabama in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) on Tuesday night at Neville Arena.
“We did a better job in the second half of knocking down shots,” said Auburn head coach Steven Pearl. “The last 25 minutes, our guys did a good job of locking in and found a way to win the game.”
Overton, who was scoreless (0-for-5) in the first half, erupted for 21 points in the second half, knocking down seven triples as Auburn shot 60% from the floor after halftime.
“The shots were falling in the second half,” said Overton. “In the first half, I was trying to find that rhythm. When you make those simple ones, the other ones become easier.”
Kaden Magwood, who had not appeared in a game since January 6 against Texas A&M, poured in a career-high 14 points with three triples in the second half.
“Kaden played great off the bench in the second half, had a lot of step-up,” Pearl said. “Against that zone, you need guys who can knock down shots. 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.”
Keyshawn Hall matched Overton with 21 points while Tahaad Pettiford added 11 and Elyjah Freeman grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to help the Tigers outrebound the Jaguars 42-31.
Trailing by six at the half, Auburn surged out of the break with a 13-2 run to grab a lead it would never relinquish.
After attempting 26 threes in the first half and only connecting on five, Auburn netted 11 of its 18 shots from deep in the second stanza. The Tigers tied a school record with 44 3-point attempts and made a season high 16 triples.
Overton ignited a 9-0 run for Auburn with under 10 minutes left to play, and capped off the Tigers’ scoring efforts with a pair of deep threes to push them back ahead by 11.
With the win, Auburn advances to the second round and will host Seattle this weekend, with a date and time to be announced on Wednesday night. TG
