Auburn made a major blunder late in the first game of the Steven Pearl era on Monday night, and they just barely escaped a major upset loss because of it.
No. 20 Auburn beat unranked Bethune-Cookman 95-90 in overtime at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala. The Tigers were leading 81-78 with the final seconds of regulation ticking away when Bethune-Cookman junior Artero Morris heaved up a desperation shot from half court. Auburn sophomore Elyjah Freeman made the unwise decision to contest the shot and was called for a foul.
Freeman even left his feet while trying to prevent Morris from getting the low-percentage shot off.
AUBURN FOULS AT HALF-COURT AND BETHUNE-COOKMAN WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO SEND IT TO OTpic.twitter.com/QWBUtiUKpZ
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) November 4, 2025
Morris hit all three free throws to send the game to overtime.
Fortunately for Freeman, Auburn senior Keyshawn Hall led the way with seven points in overtime (28 total in the game) to help the Tigers avoid disaster.
That was a massive mistake from Freeman, who should not have put himself in any position where a foul could be called. The worst-case scenario for Auburn in that situation was that Bethune-Cookman would hit a miracle shot to force overtime. Freeman made it easy by sending Morris to the line, and it nearly cost the Tigers the game.
Pearl took over as the head coach at Auburn after his father stepped down earlier this year. While that is not the way Steven wanted his head coaching career to begin, he is fortunate to have a 1-0 record.
