Guard Arterio Morris made three free throws with less than a second on the clock to send Bethune-Cookman to overtime with No. 20 Auburn, but the Tigers took over in the extra frame to leave with a 95-90 victory and end the Wildcats’ upset bid on Monday, Nov. 3.
B-CU, the preseason favorite to win the SWAC, entered as a 24.5-point underdog, according to ESPN Bet. That didn’t stop it from going toe-to-toe with Auburn, a Final Four participant earlier this year.
The Wildcats led 85-84 with 3:46 left in overtime, but the Tigers put together a six-point run that they couldn’t recover from. The closest Bethune-Cookman got was a 90-88 deficit after a Jordan Johnson 3-pointer with 1:22 remaining, but Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford converted an and-one on the other end to push the lead back to five.
Auburn forward Keyshawn Hall led all scorers with 28 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including a 2-of-4 mark from long range. Bethune-Cookman forward Quentin Heady paced the Wildcats with 21 points and shot 8 for 15 from the field.
Morris, who sent the game to overtime, had 20 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for an opening night double-double.
Although the Wildcats’ performance will still go down as a loss, it was their closest game against a ranked team in program history. Bethune-Cookman was previously 0-28 against ranked opponents and hadn’t lost by fewer than 14 points.
The Wildcats will travel to Miami Thursday with confirmation they can hang with ranked opponents. The Tigers also play Thursday with a home game against Merrimack.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Bethune-Cookman men’s basketball nearly stuns No. 20 Auburn with OT loss in season opener
Reporting by Zach Allen, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
