The last Auburn player to record back-to-back 30-point games was Wesley Person in 1994. Thirty-two years later, Keyshawn Hall duplicated Person’s feat. Hall dropped 32 points on 11-of-14 shooting to lead the Tigers in upsetting No. 15 Arkansas 95-73 at Neville Arena on Saturday.
For Hall, this marked his second straight 32-point performance. Just three days before, he delivered the same scoring output in Auburn’s narrow 90-88 defeat to Texas A&M.
Keyshawn Hall Dominates Arkansas With Masterful Display of Scoring and Physicality
Hall blitzed the John Calipari-coached Razorbacks with a masterful display of scoring and physicality. He used his 6’7″, 235-pound frame to body up on smaller guards and attacked with his explosive first step. To compound Arkansas’ woes, the forward shot 4-of-5 from the 3-point area.
The Cleveland, Ohio, native went 6-of-6 from the free throw line and tallied 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks in 36 minutes of action, but Auburn coach Steven Pearl was more interested in how he performed on the defensive side of the ball.
“I’m more pleased with his defense,” Pearl, who earned his first SEC win since taking over Auburn’s coaching duties from his father Bruce, said. “He did such a good job of walling up, getting vertical and not slapping down. He’s such a talented scorer, he can do it in a number of different ways.”
MORE: Steven Pearl Confronts Fresh ‘Nepotism Hire’ Talk, Reveals Key Factor Behind Auburn HC Decision
KeShawn Murphy provided support to Hall, chipping in with 16 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double in a Tigers uniform. Elyjah Freeman tallied 13 points and 6 rebounds, while Kevin Overton added 10 points. Tahaad Pettiford came up with 6 points, 4 rebounds, and a game-high 7 assists.
Hall kick-started Auburn’s scoring attack in the first half, scoring 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, to give Auburn a 49-34 halftime lead.
In the second half, Murphy doused Arkansas’ fiery start with a 3-pointer, then Hall added five straight points to stretch Auburn’s lead to 19 points. Freeman’s triple put the Tigers on top by 20 before the UCF transfer reached the 25-point mark with a layup.
With Hall spearheading the scoring attack, Arkansas could not match Auburn’s physicality, resulting in the Tigers dominating the paint (48-28) and shooting an excellent 56.7% clip, which was notches above its average field-goal rate of 47.0%. Auburn also outrebounded Arkansas 37-28, leading to an 18-9 edge in second-chance points.
Auburn Takes Down Arkansas To Record First SEC Regular Season Win
The win was Auburn’s first in three SEC regular-season tries and moved their record to 10-6 overall. The victory erases the stigma of back-to-back losses to Georgia (104-100) and Texas A&M (90-88). The Tigers also avoid falling further in the conference standings, with tougher games ahead.
“We had to get that one. It didn’t matter who it was against,” Pearl said. “You can’t dig yourself into an 0-3 hole in this conference and expect to have any real success. A really important win against a top 15 opponent and a really good Arkansas team.”
The first-year Auburn bench tactician said the team finally took advantage of a sellout crowd and found inspiration from the supportive fans in their game against an AP Top 15 opponent. He hopes his team stays hungry and grounded, remembering they have not achieved anything yet.
“The challenge now is we’ve got to do that every night. We beat a top 15 team; we can’t let that get us too high. We’ve got to stay locked in and continue to work to get better,” he said.
With Hall leading the team plus the standout performances of his teammates, Auburn’s new era is just getting started, and the Tigers hope the victories will start to pile up to strengthen their chances of getting a ticket to the NCAA Tournament in March.
