{"id":130878,"date":"2026-01-25T01:25:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T01:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/130878\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T01:25:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T01:25:16","slug":"swamp-celebration-auburn-wins-76-67-at-no-16-florida-auburn-tigers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/130878\/","title":{"rendered":"Swamp celebration: Auburn wins 76-67 at No. 16 Florida – Auburn Tigers"},"content":{"rendered":"

GAINESVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Winning in Gator country for the first time in 30 years, Keyshawn Hall<\/a> scored 24 points, Auburn started strong and finished stronger to knock off No. 16 Florida 76-67 Saturday at O\u2019Connell Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s an unbelievable win for our ballclub,\u201d Auburn coach Steven Pearl<\/a> said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been here for 11 years. That might be the best road win that we\u2019ve ever had as a program. If you look back at Auburn basketball history, that might be one of the best road wins we\u2019ve ever had. I thought our guys, for about 32 minutes, executed the gameplan to perfection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leading by 15 at the half, Sebastian Williams-Adams<\/a> made a 3-pointer to put the Tigers ahead 46-28 one minute into the second half.<\/p>\n

The defending national champions did not go down quietly, steadily chipping away and twice evening the score midway through the second half.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After Thomas Haugh, who led all scorers with 27, tied the score at 56-56 with 8:09 to play, Tahaad Pettiford<\/a> restored the lead for Auburn a minute later with a jumper in the paint, and the Tigers led the rest of the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had all the momentum in the world.\u201d Pearl said. \u201cOur guys responded and did a great job of taking that team\u2019s punch. Our team did a great job of hanging in there and staying together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pettiford, who scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds, banked in a right-handed layup high off the glass for a 62-56 Auburn lead with 4:24 to go.<\/p>\n

After the Gators pulled within four points, Williams-Adams drove on Florida\u2019s Rueben Chinyelu for a layup and a six-point Auburn lead with 2:19 remaining.<\/p>\n

Kevin Overton<\/a>, who scored 10 points and led Auburn with a plus-19, made a steal and layup that gave the Tigers a 68-60 advantage with 1:42 to play.<\/p>\n

Florida missed nine straight shots down the stretch until Haugh\u2019s 3-point play cut Auburn\u2019s lead to five with 1:11 on the clock.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pettiford, Overton and KeShawn Murphy<\/a> went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line over the final 70 seconds to secure Auburn\u2019s third straight SEC victory, one that could resonate all the way to Selection Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur team three weeks ago would not have won this game,\u201d said Pearl, whose Tigers made 19 of 21 free throws. \u201cThat speaks to our growth as a team, our growth as a staff, and our kids\u2019 willingness to stick together and lock into the details of the things we\u2019ve been harping on every single day in practice. We\u2019ve continuously gotten better as a group.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murphy narrowly missed a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing nine rebounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Florida (14-6, 5-2), which led for less than a minute, had won five consecutive SEC games, including a trio of top-25 victories.<\/p>\n

On his way to a 22-point first half, Hall scored Auburn\u2019s first 10 points to help the Tigers grab an early lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It took Auburn only three and a half minutes to take a 10-point lead on Pettiford\u2019s 3-pointer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pettiford capped a 12-0 run with a spinning drive that gave Auburn a 19-5 lead at the 15:27 mark of the first half.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hall scored 22 points in the half on 7-of-10 shooting, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range, to help Auburn lead 43-28 at intermission. Hall finished with seven rebounds and a team-high four assists.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were swarming to the ball,\u201d said Pearl, whose Tigers outrebounded Florida 19-13 in the opening half. \u201cWe didn\u2019t let their size affect us. We wanted to make them settle for jump shots. The biggest difference in the first half was we held them to four offensive rebounds (on 16 missed shots). It\u2019s the reason why we won the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Auburn (13-7, 4-3) returns to Neville Arena Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT for the Rumble in the Jungle vs. Texas featuring free foam tiger paws for Auburn University students.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, it\u2019s about what we do from here,\u201d Pearl said. \u201cWhile we beat probably the best team in our league on the road \u2013 while we never got too low \u2013 we can\u2019t let this get us too high. If we let this affect us in a way that distracts us from the next one, then it really doesn\u2019t mean anything. We\u2019ve got to get on to the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X:\u00a0@jeff_shearer<\/a><\/p>\n