This was the kind of basketball people were expecting to see under Bruce Pearl at Auburn Arena.
Down 13 at halftime at home, the Tigers battled back against Xavier, eventually grabbing a one-point win in double overtime.
In the second half, Auburn shot 61 percent and took the lead with 2:27 to go on a three-pointer from leading scorer KT Harrell. The Tigers maintained that lead until the 00:21 mark, when Miles Davis hit a three to tie things up at 71.
Cinmeon Bowers hit a layup from under the basket to give Auburn the lead back, but Antoine Mason fouled a driving Remmy Abell at the other end, who sank both shots from the line to send it to overtime.
The teams went back and forth again in the first overtime, finding themselves tied at 83 heading to the second.
Free throws plagued Auburn all game long (18-29), but, in the end, clutch free throws are what made the difference for Pearl's Tigers. Freshman Trayvon Reed hit one of two to give Auburn an 87-86 lead. On the next possession, an errant Xavier shot was tipped back in by Jalen Reynolds, giving the Musketeers the lead back with 36 seconds to go.
On the next Auburn possession, Malcolm Canada was fouled and stepped to the line with 14 seconds left.
Canada finished with 15 points after having only two at the break, none bigger than the two he sank from the charity stripe to give the Tigers a one-point lead that would become the final score.
Remy Abell was able to get a final shot off at the buzzer, but it was off the mark and Auburn won 89-88.
Canada was arguably the MVP of the comeback, but it was a total team effort from the Tigers on Saturday that helped them win the game.
KT Harrell scored 24 points, Bowers scored 17, and Antoine Mason added another 12.
Reed had his best game so far with four points, five rebounds and five blocks.
The defense from the Tigers was much improved after halftime. Overall, Auburn forced 16 turnovers and turned them in to 17 points.
The win moves Auburn up to 5-5, but it won't get easier from here.
Auburn's next opponent, Texas Southern, pulled off an overtime win of their own Saturday, beating No. 25 Michigan State at home by a score of 71-64, for their second win of the season.
The game between Auburn and Texas Southern will tipoff at 7:00 p.m. on December 23, and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
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