Auburn’s backcourt carried the load Thursday night, and that was enough to send the Tigers into the regular season with an 80-68 exhibition win over Samford.
Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton did most of the heavy lifting, combining for 45 points and accounting for 56 percent of Auburn’s offense. Overton finished with a team-high 25 points, while Pettiford added 20 in the Tigers’ final tuneup before the games start counting.
“Solid win tonight. That’s a good Samford team.
They’ve got some pieces,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “That was a tough game for our traditional size to play in.
Part of why we play exhibitions games is to get exposed. I feel like we learned a lot over these last three games.
A lot of really good film to lean on.”
The Tigers had to grind through a first half that didn’t come easy. Auburn spent much of it chasing the Bulldogs until Kolby King, making his preseason debut, drilled a 4-point play to put the Tigers in front 23-22.
“He’s got an innate ability to make shots,” Pearl said. “He gave us a really nice boost.
We’ve got to play him more if he’s going to give us that positive impact off the bench. Having that depth allows you to compete more and go best on best more in practice.”
Auburn then finished the half with a burst. Pettiford buried a corner 3 off an inbounds play in the final minute, and Overton followed with a deep 3-pointer with eight seconds left to cap a 9-0 run and send the Tigers into halftime up 35-24.
Samford, powered by Cooper Noard’s game-high 30 points, kept coming after the break and stayed within reach for much of the second half. The Bulldogs made 7 of their first 10 shots to get within one before Auburn answered with seven straight points from Overton and Pettiford to stretch the lead to 48-40.
“I felt good coming out. Preparing throughout the week knowing I was going to get those shots and when gametime came, they fell,” said Pettiford, who also led Auburn with four assists and committed just one turnover in 30 minutes. “We knew they needed turnovers to get their offense going.”
Overton kept the Bulldogs from closing the gap, hitting two more 3-pointers, including one after Pettiford found him at the top of the key as the shot clock wound down. Then freshman Caleb Williams stepped in and finished the job, knocking down three 3-pointers in the final five minutes to end with 14 points, all after halftime.
“He doesn’t play like a freshman which is very encouraging,” Pearl said. “He’s incredibly coachable.
He’s capable of making tough shots and he showed that in tonight’s game, especially late in the second half. He works really hard, which I love about him.”
Auburn also controlled the glass, outrebounding Samford 44-27 and turning that edge into a 22-4 advantage in second-chance points. Overton pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Tigers, Thomas Dowd added seven, and Pettiford grabbed four.
“I thought Thomas Dowd was really good,” Pearl said. “He runs to the offensive glass every single time.
He sets big screens, he makes all the right reads, he doesn’t turn the ball over. He does so many things that impact winning.”
With the exhibition slate complete, Auburn now turns to Wednesday’s season opener at Neville Arena against Southeastern Louisiana in Tipoff on The Plains.
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