The Auburn Tigers dropped their SEC opener in Athens in heartbreaking fashion Saturday afternoon, losing in an overtime thriller against No. 23 Georgia 104-100. Even with the Tigers mounting a miraculous late-game comeback, crucial turnovers and clutch shots from the Bulldogs led to Georgia escaping its home arena with a win. This loss comes as the Tigers’ third in their last five games, but it also gives them some hope for the future as the SEC season progresses.
The game was a back-and-forth battle throughout, with the biggest lead of the game coming after Georgia hit a layup early in the second half to go up by nine. Auburn showed great resilience throughout, specifically in the second half. Despite only holding a lead for one possession in the second half, the Tigers stayed within five for the final 10 minutes of the game.
With Auburn down by five with twelve seconds left in the game, it seemed that their fate was sealed. But with an-and-one layup from forward Keyshawn Hall, a missed Georgia free throw, and a Georgia foul on a Hall three-point shot, the Tigers found themselves down by four with under a second left on the game clock. Hall made his first two free throws before strategically missing his third. With just 0.7 seconds left on the clock, guard Kevin Overton was able to secure the rebound and make a game-tying fadeaway shot before the clock expired.
Keyshawn Hall (7) looks for a pass against UGA in Stageman Coliseum on January 3, 2026.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, arguably their most impressive shot and comeback of the season ended up all for naught. Even though the Tigers took a three-point lead halfway through overtime, back-to-back three-point shots from Georgia guard Jeremiah Wilkinson in the span of a minute, along with three blocks in two possessions from center Somto Cyril, iced away the game for the Bulldogs.
Wilkinson finished the game with a dominant scoring performance, ending with 31 points and 6 rebounds while shooting 40% from three. This game continues the Cal transfer’s impressive scoring season. He currently is sixth in the SEC in points per game with 18.3
Surprisingly, despite the Tigers losing and shooting worse from the floor, they out-rebounded the Bulldogs by 15. This is a surprising bright spot for the Tigers, as many viewed that rebounding could be a struggle for them in SEC play due to their being undersized in the frontcourt.
As far as individual performances go, Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford led the team in scoring with 25 points while also notching four assists on the day. This was a nice bounce-back game for Pettiford, who had trouble scoring in the Tigers' last two matchups. Keyshawn Hall and Kevin Overton continued their solid offensive play into the SEC, scoring 20 and 19 points, respectively. Forward Filip Jovic also had an impressive showing, recording his first double-double of the season, securing 10 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out early in overtime.
Tahaad Pettiford (0) dribbles ball down the court against UGA in Stageman Coliseum on January 3, 2026.
Auburn will hope to bounce back and record its first win of the New Year and SEC play this Tuesday against a Texas A&M squad that has always been a formidable opponent for the Tigers in recent years.
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Jonathan is a freshman majoring in industrial and systems engineering. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2025.
