MOBILE, Ala. — Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl knew traveling to Mobile to take on South Alabama was going to be a tough task. He had been saying so since the matchup was scheduled.
The game started out sloppy with Auburn falling behind early and dealing with turnovers. It was also getting heavily out-rebounded despite a large height advantage.
At the half Auburn led by eight but things changed from there. The Tigers' advantage swelled to as many as 14 points before untimely turnovers and missed free throws saw the lead wither away. Behind a pair of triples from Andre Fox, South Alabama took the lead with just 28 seconds remaining.
After a chaotic series of events, true freshman Isaac Okoro was able to grab a rebound and put it back up for a layup while getting fouled, giving Auburn a 1-point lead with 1.3 seconds left. Okoro missed the free throw but the Jaguars were unable to hit a buzzer-beater as Auburn won 70-69.
For Pearl, seeing Okoro make a clutch shot was not surprising.
“No, no, he’s a great player,” Pearl said after the game. “He does it at both ends. Phenomenal athlete — just real productive. I’m just gonna have fun every night thinking of ways to utilize him.”
While Okoro started and played a big role for the Tigers, redshirt sophomore Jamal Johnson also played a massive role off the bench scoring 14 and shooting 4-of-5 from deep.
"Jamal Johnson, this was his best game and we needed every one of those three balls that he knocked down,” Pearl said. “We don’t win the game without them.”
Not only did Johnson come off the bench and have an impactful role but Anfernee McLemore had 14 points off the bench along with four rebounds. The Tigers saw Allen Flanigan play what Pearl described as his best game.
Freshman center Babatunde Akingbola came off the bench and got two key blocks down the stretch when Austin Wiley and McLemore were dealing with foul trouble.
Okoro was also joined by fellow starter Samir Doughty in double-digit scoring, as Doughty put up a double-double with 10 points and rebounds.
Wiley was seemingly a non-factor in the game, fouling out after just two points and a rebound.
“They peck away at him, his fouls, offensive fouls … don’t get me started,” Pearl said after the game.
Auburn will next take on Cal State Northridge on Friday at 6 p.m. CST at home in Auburn Arena.
“We've got to get a lot better,” Pearl said. “I’ve got to take this group into the SEC."
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