Auburn overcame a slow start to advance to the second round of the NIT Tournament.
After the Auburn Tigers made the unexpected decision to accept a bid to the NIT Tournament, they were declared the top seed and hosted the South Alabama Jaguars in the first round at Neville Arena on Tuesday night.
The Tigers had to overcome a slow start, but when the final buzzer sounded, they found themselves on the right side of a 78-67 final score.
Auburn slept-walked out of the gate, and South Alabama had built a 10-3 lead less than four minutes after the game began
Auburn trimmed the Jaguars' lead as low as a single point during that frame, but the visitors built it back up to 11. When the teams returned to the locker room at the conclusion of the first half, Auburn trailed by six points.
After a Kaden Magwood 3-pointer at the 15:54 mark of the second half, Auburn held its first lead of the night.
The Tigers never gave up the lead after that point, and they cruised to a first-round victory from that point.
Keyshawn Hall and Kevin Overton led the way for the Tigers on the scoreboard, finishing with 21 points each. Elyjah Freeman had a stand-out performance for Auburn on the glass, ending the night with 10 rebounds. Tahaad Pettiford, Overton and Freeman tied for the lead in assists with four each.
Overton's hot hand from beyond the arc paved the way to the win for the Tigers. He shot 7-of-13 from 3-point range, accounting for nearly half of Auburn's successful attempts.
Auburn will take on Seattle U in the second round of the tournament after it beat St. Thomas 67-52. A tipoff date and time, as well as broadcast information has not yet been determined.