No. 20 Auburn men’s basketball fell 97-95 in overtime to Oklahoma State on Wednesday in the Ballin’ in Boutwell event.
Keyshawn Hall led the way for Auburn in the first game of the Steven Pearl era, scoring 26 points to go along with eight rebounds. The senior transfer from UCF made clutch shots down the stretch, tying the game with 28 seconds to play in regulation, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to hold off the Cowboys in overtime.
“He put us on his back late and did a really good job,” Pearl said of Hall. “Every time we dealt with adversity, we didn’t panic and we ended up climbing back into the game.”
The Tigers’ defense surrendered 97 points Wednesday night, something the Auburn family isn’t used to seeing. Last year’s historic Final Four team gave up a season-high 93 points to Alabama.
“Very competitive game,” Pearl said. “Defensively, we just aren’t where we need to be. You can’t overreact to one result. We play the game to win the game. I’m disappointed that we weren’t able to beat a good but short-handed Oklahoma State team.”
Cowboys guards Anthony Roy and Isaiah Coleman combined to score 28 points each and scored at will against the Tigers all night long.
“We talked about in the scouting report, their guards were the one group that could beat us and we as coaches did a really bad job of taking the ball out of their hands,” Pearl said. “That’s a hundred percent on me. They were really quick and they were able to get downhill.”
After Oklahoma State recorded the first five points of the overtime period, Hall helped the Tigers storm back to tie the game with 51 seconds to go, but it wasn’t enough as Roy hit a long 3-pointer to regain the lead.
Two newcomers who made an impact for the Tigers were Elyjah Freeman and Kevin Overton. Freeman, a Division II transfer, recorded 16 points in his Tigers debut. While there’s room to grow, he looks like he will be a force to be reckoned with this season. Overton, a Texas Tech transfer, posted 15 points on the night.
Tahaad Pettiford didn’t look like himself, shooting 4-for-16 from the field and 2-for-9 from behind the arc. His seven made free throws brought his total to 17 points on the night.
Growing pains will likely continue for the Tigers during their non-conference schedule, but it should make them better once SEC play arrives. Before league play, Auburn is scheduled to take on No. 2 Houston, No. 7 Michigan, No. 13 Arizona, and No. 1 Purdue.
Auburn head coach Steven Pearl yells instructions at Ballin in Boutwell against OSU on Oct. 15, 2025.
Auburn will be back in action against Memphis for an exhibition at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Oct. 30, 2025. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CST.
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Rory is a sophomore majoring in journalism sports production. He started with The Plainsman in the spring of 2025.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @RorymGarvin
