Keyshawn Hall's double-double leads No. 21 Auburn over Chattanooga

ATLANTA – No. 21 Auburn used the big three of Keyshawn Hall, Tahaad Pettiford and Elyjah Freeman along with a dominating rebounding performance to defeat upset-minded Chattanooga 92-78 Saturday in the Holiday Hoopsgiving event at State Farm Arena.

“Happy with the result but really disappointed in the process,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl. “Didn’t have the pop we needed tonight. Our defense has got to be better.”

Hall registered his fifth double-double of the season, leading the Tigers with 22 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. 

“I was trying to dish to other guys, let them hit some shots. My biggest thing every game is I always try to crash the rebounds. That gets me going,” said Hall, who made 11 of 14 free-throw attempts. “If I can do that, it elevates my game. We’re going to have to pick it up before the next game.”

Pettiford scored eight of his 20 points in the final 37 seconds, and Freeman chipped in 19 points and seven rebounds off the bench after suggesting freshman Sebastian Williams-Adams start in his place. 

“Trying to figure out what’s best for the team,” Freeman said of his team-first recommendation. “Putting SWA (Williams-Adams) there, he can play-make and help our team with our assist numbers because we’ve been trying to get them up. Him starting and me coming off the bench, I don’t have a problem with that, and I know I’m going to play.”

Auburn outrebounded the smaller Mocs 42-20, enjoying a 16-7 advantage in second-chance points. 

KeShawn Murphy contributed nine points and nine rebounds. Williams-Adams added eight points, four rebounds and five assists.

Leading by five points at the half, Auburn saw Chattanooga pull within one point three times early in the second half before a 12-0 run gave the Tigers a 14-point lead with 11:07 to play on a pair of Williams-Adams free throws.

Freeman’s steal and layup gave the Tigers a 16-point lead before Chattanooga used a 7-0 run to cut Auburn’s lead to single digits.

Freeman and Pettiford hit 3-pointers 36 seconds apart to take the lead back to double digits in a game Auburn never trailed. 

In the first half, Pettiford gave the Tigers a 13-point lead with a 3-pointer with 8:50 remaining before the Mocs got within two in the final minute.

“We’ve got to do a better job on that (defensive) side of creating havoc and trying to create turnovers,” Pearl said. “I’ve got to get back to the drawing board and figure out how I can make this team better defensively.”

Freeman beat the buzzer to give Auburn a 43-38 halftime lead. Hall paced the Tigers with 12 first-half points and five rebounds, helping Auburn outrebound Chattanooga 22-10 in the opening half. 

“We know our potential, so we just have to lock in and have that same effort the whole game,” Hall said.

Jordan Frison scored 20 points for Chattanooga (5-6). 

Auburn (8-3) has a week to get ready for its next high-profile opponent. The Tigers take on No. 6 Purdue next Saturday at 5:30 p.m. CT in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer

GAME NOTES

• Auburn leads Chattanooga 4-2 all-time. The Tigers have won five of the last six in the series.
• The Tigers are 7-2 in State Farm Arena all-time, including 5-1 in the Holiday Hoopsgiving event, and the Tigers have won five straight games in the venue.
• Auburn started Tahaad Pettiford, Kevin Overton, Keyshawn Hall, KeShawn Murphy and Sebastian Williams-Adams. It is the first time the group has started together this season.
• With its 92-point effort, Auburn topped the 90-point mark for the fifth time this season. On the season, the Tigers have scored 951 points, which is the fourth-most points through 11 games in program history (1,036 points in 1991-92, 974 points in 2024-25 and 964 points in 2000-01).
• Auburn went 11-of-30 from 3-point range, marking the third time this season the Tigers have made at least 11 3-pointers (13 vs. Jackson State and 12 vs. NC State).
• Auburn went 29-of-37 from the free throw line on Saturday, making 17 straight from the charity stripe after making its final three free throws of the first half and the first 14 of the second half.
• The 29 made free throws are a season high, topping the Tigers’ 27 free throws from each of the first two games of the year against Bethune-Cookman and Merrimack. Over the last four games, Auburn has gone 89-of-109 (81.7 percent) from the free throw line, going at least 78.4 percent from the line in all four contests.
• Auburn recorded 17 assists on 26 made field goals, which is the second most this season as a team.
• Auburn outrebounded Chattanooga, 42-20. The plus-22 rebounding margin is the Tigers’ second-best mark of the season (+31 vs. Jackson State). The Tigers are 7-0 when outrebounding an opponent this season.
• Keyshawn Hall (22), Tahaad Pettiford (20) and Elyjah Freeman (19) led Auburn in scoring, combining to score 61 of Auburn’s 92 points.
• Hall recorded his fifth double-double and his fifth 20-point, 10-rebound game of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds to go with six assists and one block in 36 minutes. He went over 1,400 career points in the game, finishing with 1,407 points.
• Pettiford recorded his second consecutive 20-point game as he finished with 20 points in 30 minutes, including 14 in the second half.
• It is the fourth time this season Auburn has had two 20-point scorers in a game, including the second time Hall and Pettiford have done it in the same game.
• Freeman scored 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, and 3-of-3 from the foul line, and he added seven rebounds and one steal in 33 minutes. It is his 31st career game in double figures (third this season) as he was two points shy of his season high 21 points against Wofford.