The No. 12 Auburn Tigers defeated the NC State Wolfpack 79-73 in a physical game Thursday Night in Auburn Arena. This win advances Auburn to 10-0 for the first time since the 1998-99 season.
The Tigers secured the win but it didn’t come easy. Both teams struggled offensively and the largest lead the whole game was 10.
Samir Doughty shined Thursday in Auburn Arena scoring 24 points and hitting a late three to seal the win. Center Austin Wiley also played well as he had eight rebounds, 10 points and went 4-4.
Auburn Arena was rocking the last four minutes of the game, as they ending up being the most important minutes of the game. With the game tied 64-64 with four and half minutes left, the Tigers rallied and pulled away to end the game 79-73.
Although Auburn Head Coach Bruce Pearl said “it was a really good win” he also mentioned, “we can get a lot better, we can execute a lot better.”
With eight lead changes, both teams were focused on getting points on the board to secure a win. When Auburn trailed in the second half Austin Wiley said the team, “just kept playing. We did not get rattled and we stayed together.” The Tigers then went on a 10-0 run to pull away and secure the win.
While mistakes were made on both sides of the ball, Bruce Pearl is confident in his team and believes they will improve. “Auburn Basketball isn’t going to be as pretty this year but we have some strong pieces.”
Auburn held this talented NC State team to almost 10 points under their average. Pearl commented on this saying, “Last year’s team couldn’t beat this team and this year’s team did.”
Auburn looks to improve to 11-0 Saturday afternoon as the Tigers take on Lehigh at 5 p.m. CT in Auburn Arena. The game can be found on SEC Network.
