When adversity comes knocking, true grit shows its face. Keyshawn Hall was rallying No. 22 Auburn against top-ranked Houston, cutting the deficit to four with 4:20 left. Driving into the paint, he was swallowed by defenders and came down clutching his foot. Despite the pain, he rose to sink two free throws as the crowd delivered a standing ovation. The UCF transfer walked off in tears, and with Hall sidelined, Auburn kept battling, and all that the fighting coach Steven Pearl could do was praise.

Hall finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, his fourth 20-point outing, before returning to the bench, still noticeably limping. Even without their leading scorer, Auburn refused to fade, pushing Houston to the wire before falling 73-72. After the game, coach Steven Pearl had no update on Hall’s condition but emphasized the grit his team showed in the final minutes.

“We were down six when he went out, made two free throws. I thought our guys did a really good job of picking him up and playing well without him played the last four or five minutes without him and had an opportunity at the end of the game to win,” Steven Pearl told the media before closing on the appreciation.

“I think our plus minus was a positive when he went out of the game. That’s a credit to our guys, and it’s just next man up mentality.” The recognition wasn’t random as the team stepped up even without their star. After Hall bowed out, Auburn scored 6 points while Houston scored only five, which means their +/- was +1. It helped that Houston’s Chris Cenac Jr. fouled out seconds later, which evened things out.

Houston had the momentum as they went on a 6-0 run in the 2:23. Pearl further praised their lockdown defense in those important moments, but admitted that Hall’s absence was felt. 

“They were locked in and defensively made a lot of plays, but yeah, I mean, he’s obviously a guy that late in the game would be another good option that would get downhill and draw contact and potentially get to the foul line. But I thought our guys did a phenomenal job of stepping up and responding when he went down,” Pearl said. 

While Keyshawn Hall came back on the sidelines, it was confirmed that he was not returning to the court. It was up to the squad to complete the job without him. And they almost did it. Elyjah Freeman made two very clutch steals, which brought Auburn within touching distance of a win. With 23 seconds to go, Auburn had the possession with the scoreline reading 73-72 to Houston.

Tahaad Pettiford took it upon himself to drive to the rim but was fiercely blocked by Kingston Flemings. After inbounding the ball, the Tigers lost it again as Flemings knocked it out of bounds. Pettiford tried to drive through three defenders but was blocked. You would think the game was over, but a second remained, just enough for a catch and shoot.

In the final possession, the ball was lobbed to the rim to KeShawn Murphy, but Milos Uzan cleans knocked the ball away. It was a back-and-forth game, but a few defensive plays from Houston gave them the win. In a game of margins, you just can’t afford to give an inch to a team like Houston. It was pretty clear to Pearl what cost them the win. 

Steven Pearl Pinpoints the silly mistake in their loss

Frankly, Auburn was not expected to win against Houston. The Cougars are contending for the title, while Auburn is in a coaching transition with Steven Pearl taking over from his father, Bruce Pearl. It’s Steven’s first head coaching job. This Auburn side hasn’t played together much. Going against expectations, they had a chance to pull off the upset of the season (so far). However, a major discrepancy from the foul line held them back. 

“I thought obviously at the end of the game, we missed 12 free throws. That’s the difference in the game right there. If we go ahead and make our free throws, it’s a different ball game,” Pearl said. They did everything else in the game right. Auburn matched the outside shooting (7-22 vs 7-24). Houston did the same on the glass (37-40) while grabbing 14 offensive rebounds. 

It came down to the free throws, probably the first thing a player learns. Auburn shot 21-33 from the free-throw line (63%) against Houston’s 10/12 (83%). The extreme gap in free throws awarded was not the referees’ fault. It was because Houston recognized this weakness and used it to their advantage. They fouled more as Auburn missed too many from the line. To make matters worse, their former coach, Bruce Pearl, was in attendance. So the loss stung a little extra.

“We expected to win the game. You know, moral victories are for losers. So, don’t ask me a question about do I feel? No, I don’t. Because I told our guys that I thought we were the better team, and I have elite confidence in this group. But for us, it’s about what we do from here,” a disappointed Steven Pearl said. Looking forward, free throws are easy to correct. The team as a whole looked very competitive, and this display will certainly encourage the fans.