With Texas making its first trip to the Plains since 1911, it appeared for the first 20 minutes Wednesday night that Auburn’s win streak was in jeopardy.
Then Keyshawn Hall took over.
Hall poured in 25 second-half points to ignite a 14-point Auburn comeback as the Tigers surged past the Longhorns 88-82 inside Neville Arena.
“Let me tell you, he’s one of college basketball’s premier players,” said Texas head coach Sean Miller.
Hall finished with 31 points – his third 30-point game of the season – but was certainly not alone. Kevin Overton notched 17 of his 25 total points in the second half, connecting on three triples as the duo combined for 56 points.
“Key (Hall) and KO (Overton) had a lot of step-up in that second half,” Auburn head coach Steven Pearl. “We got bailed out by two of our best players. Key and KO were phenomenal.”
The opening 20 minutes looked nothing like the Tigers’ previous contest, as a 1-for-5 start from the field led to a 14-point Auburn deficit midway through the first half. In the process, Texas knocked down eight 3-pointers, a season high.
After each squad traded baskets to begin the second period, Auburn used a 7-0 run – all scored by Hall – to cut the Longhorns’ lead to three. Texas fired back with a mini 5-0 run of its own to halt Auburn’s momentum, but the next two minutes resulted in a 12-3 Auburn burst, sparked by by back-to-back threes from Overton.
“Our guys hung in there and we were able to find a way to grind out a win. Really proud of the guys,” Pearl said.
Texas surged ahead once more after another possession, but Auburn took complete control as it scored on 24 of its 28 second-half possessions en route to a 54-40 advantage in the final stanza.
“Auburn has an excellent basketball team. We saw it on full display in the second half,” Miller said. “We could not stop them in the second half. I give them a lot of credit. It’s a great environment, great home court. Lot of respect for Auburn, lot of respect for Steven. We lost to a really great team. They were the better team.””
Daylin Swain led Texas with 30 points (17 in the first half), but Auburn capitalized on Longhorn mistakes, converting 11 turnovers into 18 points on the other end while while committing a season-low 3 turnovers. Auburn also continued its stellar free-throw shooting with 29 makes – including 14 from Hall – the nation’s leader in free throws made.
“We’re going to keep trying to win, keep trying to roll,” Hall said. “We’ve got to keep getting better as a team, staying consistent every day.”
Auburn will travel to Knoxville for a Saturday tilt against Tennessee. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. TG
