If it was not obvious that the Auburn and Alabama rivalry meant something in basketball before Thursday night, it certainly sent a message in Birmingham, in exhibition play of all circumstances.
The Alabama Crimson Tide took home a tight one 87-85, backed by fantastic nights from Qayden Samuels and Amari Allen, while the big men of Auburn got put in foul trouble early.
The first half was back and forth and the emotions showed early. With the Tigers leading at 11-9 before the first media timeout, Troy transfer Thomas Dowd pulled down a rebound, and after a few seconds of fighting for the ball, a jump ball was called.
Tension became evident, and two technical fouls were called on each side, with Auburn seeing George Kimble III and Kevin Overton get charged.
The Tigers got another bout of momentum near the 13-minute mark, as height came in handy for Pearl’s squad.
On back-to-back misses from 3-point land, Frenchman Narcisse Ngoy fought inside and got a tip-in bucket, scoring four straight points and making it a 19-14 game. Alabama’s Brandon Garrison proceeded to catch a lob though a little bit later, putting the Crimson Tide back within three points.
Keiten Bristow helped Alabama get the lead back after the under-12-minute media break, knocking down a shot through contact and converting on the and-one opportunity to make it 21-19 and a seven-point run for Oats’ squad.
A big moment happened towards the under-8-minute break though, as just as the Crimson Tide began to get momentum, Overton knocked down two free throws, and soon after, Dowd notched a block off the backboard on the other end, which turned into Overton getting the ball in transition and canning a 3-point basket to make it 31-25 Auburn.
The last four minutes of the first half though was the big moment for the Crimson Tide, as the Tigers were going pretty cold. Buckets from Qayden Samuels and Amari Allen got Alabama the lead comfortably.
Oboye put down a slam dunk near the end of the first half to make it a 43-41 Crimson Tide lead, and even though Auburn had the last possession of the half, it could not convert and Alabama led 44-41.
The Crimson Tide extended the lead slightly in the first few minutes of the second half, getting it to four with two inside buckets from Allen. But leading into the under-12-minute break, Alabama got the lead to its largest of the game at 58-51.
Overton and South Alabama transfer Adam Olsen got going after that, and back-to-back Olsen 3-pointers gave the Tigers the lead back at 62-60.
Five consecutive points from Tarris Bouie after that gave the lead back to the Crimson Tide however, making it 65-62, a lead that later got extended.
With 7:57 left, a turning point seemingly came in the game, as Oboye fouled out and Ngoy had four fouls on him, meaning Pearl had to keep a tab on his lone remaining big man.
That is when Overton turned things up a notch, going on a solo seven-point run to give Auburn the advantage and sending those in the orange and blue in a frenzy at 74-72.
Allen later tied things at 76 with a deep ball, but Pettiford responded with a shot on the right side of the court to keep the advantage with the Tigers at 78-76.
Out of the final media break though with three minutes left, Pettiford fouled out of the game, leaving Pearl without his most veteran guard on the team.
London Jemison took advantage, canning a 3-point basket to give Alabama the edge once again at 80-78.
Auburn responded with two free throws from Kimble, but Allen drove back down and made a basket deep inside the lane with contact, convertin on the three-point play to put the Crimson Tide ahead at 83-80 with just more than a minute to go.
Samuels got a crucial bucket inside later to maintain the advantage at 85-82, and Muschalek soon cut it to two points with a free throw with 22 seconds left.
In the waning moments of the game though, it became a contest to see if the Tigers could get a chance to tie, and with 3.9 seconds left and Alabama leading 87-85, a missed free throw ended up tipping off the hands of Dowd and the time ran out, giving the Crimson Tide the win.
Overton led Auburn with 26 points, three rebounds and two assists, while Olsen put up 12 points with one rebound. Pettiford and Williams each had 11 as well, combining for nine rebounds.
The Tigers are now 0-2 in exhibition play before one more game next week against Samford in Neville Arena.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
