Coach Bruce Pearl expected Division-II Indianapolis to be a tougher test than Brevard College, which Auburn beat by 40 in its exhibition opener Oct. 30.
But even the second-year coach likely did not expect the kind of challenge Auburn received from the visiting Greyhounds at Auburn Arena Thursday night.
The Tigers survived a 114-109 overtime thriller in a game that included seven ties, eight lead changes, 67 made field goals, 90 free throw attempts and a much closer final score than the 5,327 people in attendance expected.
“We kind of needed that game, because we kind of breezed by in that first exhibition game,” said point guard Kareem Canty, who paced Auburn with 24 points. “We needed that challenge. I learned a lot from that game … but most importantly, we stuck together, we didn’t argue on the court and then we came out with the victory.”
Both teams came out of the gate firing and refused to let up.
Tyler Harris scored eight of Auburn’s first 10 points in the first 5:05, and T.J. Dunans added 11 points in the first half to give Auburn a 48-47 halftime advantage.
The action really cranked up in the second half, which saw both teams shoot over 50 percent from the field.
Canty caught fire down the stretch, scoring 14 of Auburn’s 17 points over a 4:40 run.
Indianapolis kept pace with a trio of individual efforts, as Jordan Loyd, Eric Davidson and Alex Etherington totaled for 49 of the Greyhounds’ 53 second-half points.
Davidson wowed with his three-point shooting ability, finishing the game eight-13 from behind the arc, while Loyd did his damage from the free throw line, converting 17 of his 18 attempts.
“I told the team before the game that I thought Indianapolis was going to be a tough cover,” Pearl said. “I thought they were going to be a really good offensive team … You saw what Indiana’s shooters can do in Davidson. That was pretty fun to watch.”
Auburn led by six after Canty’s run and four with 49 seconds left, but Loyd made four foul shots in the final seconds to force an extra five minutes with the score deadlocked at 100.
Auburn jumped ahead 110-107, and Indianapolis guard Joe Retic missed a shot for the tie with 16 seconds left. Canty snatched the rebound and made four of his 13 free throws to seal the victory.
With two exhibition games, including a near-loss, behind them, the Tigers now look forward to the regular season opener against UAB Friday with a clear area of improvement in mind.
“Defensive-wise, we should never give up 109 points,” said freshman Horace Spencer, who recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. “It was fun playing, but at the same time, we need to lock down on defense. Offense will come, but defense wins championships.”
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