“Really good win,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “We showed a lot of patience and toughness.”
Pettiford scored a game-high 24 points and led Auburn with four assists while adding four rebounds.
“My teammates helped me and kept me going,” said Pettiford, who was 8 of 13 on 2-point shots and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line. “Finding that rhythm early helped me a lot.”
Returning after missing a game due to an ankle injury, Hall played a team-high 36 minutes and scored 18 points, going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line while grabbing six rebounds.
“I wanted to get back out there so (athletic trainer) Clark (Pearson) told me to grind every day,” Hall said.
Auburn committed only six turnovers while forcing 18, leading to a 14–7 advantage in points off turnovers.
“Our guys did a better job of being more intentional defensively and offensively,” Pearl said. “We made plays late which was really important.”
Tied 37–37 at the half, Pettiford hit a 3-pointer early in the second half of a back-and-forth game that included 13 lead changes, before freshman Caden Magwood gave Auburn the lead for good with a jumper midway through the second half.
Magwood’s bucket started a 10-0 Auburn run that was capped off with a steal and layup by Elijah Freeman to give the Tigers a nine-point lead with 6:26 remaining. Freeman had four of Auburn’s 12 steals and shared rebounding honors with Hall along with six boards.
Oregon cut Auburn’s lead to five twice before Hall hit a 3-pointer to put the Tigers ahead 77–67 with 2:34 to play.
Kevin Overton forced Oregon’s 18th turnover with a steal and slammed home the final points of the game for an 11-point margin of victory.
Filip Jovic scored nine points on 4-for-4 shooting and grabbed four rebounds in 14 minutes.
Auburn committed only three turnovers in the first half while forcing 10.
Pettiford led the Tigers with 13 points in the first half, giving Auburn six points on a jumper with 3:18 left before the Ducks finished on an 8–2 run to even the score at halftime.
“It was great to see Tahad step up. He kept us in the game in the first half,” Pearl said. “I’m really proud of him for moving forward. It’s good to see him get back to his old form, getting to the rim, finishing through contact and being effective.”
Auburn (5-1) plays No. 7 Michigan Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. on TNT and Auburn Sports Network.
“I’m proud of our guys and our effort, but we have work to do,” Pearl said. “We’re going to have to do a really good job of keeping our bigs fresh because they’re going to have their hands full. It’s going to be a big task because Michigan has a lot of bigs.
“It was great to play a team like Oregon that is of comparable size. This will help us prepare for tomorrow. It will be a challenge and our players are excited about it.”
Jeff Shearer is a senior writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer
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