The Auburn Tigers took down the LSU Tigers in a much-needed win at home to move their conference record to 7-10. The Tigers took a lead late in the first half and never looked back, winning by a score of 88-74 on their senior night in Neville Arena.
“Great win to send our seniors out on the right note,” head coach Steven Pearl said about the win. “Obviously needed that one, and, you know, I thought defensively we did a lot of really good things early. We were disruptive, we turned them over. We went back to some things that we were doing earlier this year and I thought that was effective. And we were very in control offensively tonight, which makes a big difference.”
The Auburn group was led by sophomore point guard Tahaad Pettiford who had 27 points coming courtesy of some impressive dunks and timely 3-pointers while adding on six assist and two rebounds. Pettiford also put on an impressive display with his defense by grabbing four steals to lead the team in a night in which they had 13 total steals.
“We knew, you know, we can guard,” Pettiford said regarding the team’s defensive showing. “And we can stop teams when we needed to. It was just putting together multiple possessions, and that was something that, you know, coach, he echoed a lot at practice, and we as a team, players, just echoed it together.”
Basketball games are not just won in the final moments or the second half but throughout the entire game. Auburn got a major spark to extend their first big lead from two big 3-pointers hit by Elijah Freeman late in the first half to take them into the half leading 41-34.
The first half was marked by lots of back and forth with many lead changes and responding shots each possession. The LSU squad kept their momentum with the help of some strong shooting going 3-of-8 from the 3-point line and shooting 54.2% from the field. Auburn on the other hand found their way through a ridiculous 11-3 turnover margin in their favor while scoring 10 points off of turnovers to the LSU Tigers’ zero.
The second half would open the same way the first half was closed with the Auburn Tigers further extending their lead. They would hit their stride largely in part to Pettiford who exploded with eight straight points coming from two back-to-back 3-pointers and an emphatic dunk to extend the home squad’s lead to 11.
The Tigers would not lose that lead for the rest of the night as they continued to further extend it with the help of some sound defensive and ball movement on the offensive side of things. Auburn would roll with every punch that LSU would throw at them until the end.
The Tigers now sit at 16-14 and will be one of the main teams sitting on the bubble watch heading into the NCAA Tournament. They will look to further their case for the post-season as they head to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to take on the Crimson Tide on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CST.
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Reid is a sophomore majoring in accounting. He joined the Plainsman in the fall of 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @ReidFarris2
