Despite No. 1 Auburn’s worst shooting night of the season thus far, the Tigers’ guard play and 32 points off the bench led Bruce Pearl’s squad to escape Athens on Saturday with a victory, narrowly defeating No. 23 Georgia 70-68.
With National Player of the Year frontrunner Johni Broome still absent, Auburn’s starting big-man duo of Dylan Cardwell and Chaney Johnson was held to just four combined points. The Tigers’ backcourt stepped up, though, being able to produce on the offensive end and make up for Johnson’s quiet scoring night. Guards Tahaad Pettiford, Miles Kelly and guard/forward Chad Baker-Mazara contributed 50 of Auburn’s 68 points.
For the first time this year, Auburn consistently struggled to make shots the entire game. The Tigers shot just 39.3% from the field – easily the worst field goal shooting percentage of the season – accompanied by an underwhelming 12-of-20 from the free throw line (60%).
However, Auburn’s 43.5 three-point percentage was a main propellant en route to the Tigers’ first ranked road win, draining 10 threes on 23 attempts from behind the arc.
Pettiford contributed half of the Tigers’ three-pointers, scoring a career-high 24 points on 7-of-13 from the field and 5-of-7 from deep. Coming off the bench, Pettiford once again shined when the lights were the brightest, recording a plus/minus rating of +19. He posted 15 points in the first half and seemed to be Auburn’s only source of offense in the opening period.
“I would say from a shooting standpoint, he’s been one of the most impactful freshmen I’ve ever had at the point guard position,” Pearl said of Pettiford. “We try to go to guys’ strengths and you’ve got to create some opportunities for him to just get some clean ones… he obviously stepped up and made shots.”
Seniors Kelly and Baker-Mazara each posted 13 points, but in different ways. Kelly finished the night 4-of-8 from the field and 1-of-4 from behind the arc, in addition to a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
On the other hand, Baker-Mazara started the game ice cold. He went into halftime with just one made field goal on eight attempts, only knocking one 3-pointer down the entire half. Baker-Mazara turned it around after the break, racking up 10 more points and hitting a couple of crucial shots in the closing stages to lift the Tigers to a win.
SMU transfer forward Ja’Heim Hudson also played a big factor in Saturday’s game, tallying five points, three offensive rebounds and two steals. Filling the vacancy of Broome, Hudson made his presence known down low and displayed tough defense in the paint. Auburn had nine second chance points via 15 offensive rebounds, in addition to 13 points off of 12 Georgia turnovers.
“Unbelievable, unbelievable,” Pearl said on Ja’Heim Hudson’s performance. “How many guys leave SMU as the sixth man and come to Auburn knowing he won’t get any more than that, most likely? That’s Ja’Heim Hudson.
“We do not win the game without Turtle. We don’t. And so the joy that our guys had for him in the locker room was pretty significant.”
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Gunner is a freshman majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @norene_gunner10
