AUBURN, Ala. - The Wildcats fought until the final whistle and nearly pulled off a stunning road upset against Auburn at Neville Arena. But the Tigers were able to take control in overtime in front of a raucous home crowd to secure the season-opening victory.



FIRST HALF
The Wildcats were not deterred by the hostile environment and were able to set the tone early in the game. Senior Daniel Rouzan got off to a hot start for the Wildcats. He was responsible for B-CU's first six points of the game as they took an early 6-2 lead.

But the Tigers stormed back with a swift 7-0 run to take the lead. Fellow senior Seneca Willoughby ended the run by draining a three-pointer with 15:38 left to tie the game.

From there, the first half was a back-and-forth affair with neither team able to gain any kind of separation.

Willoughby and junior Quentin Heady led the way with nine points a piece at the conclusion of the first half. Auburn saw three players score eight points and won the rebound battle 20-15.

The Tigers struggled from the charity stripe, hitting only six of their 17 first half attempts. The Wildcats shot 45% from three-point range and were able to generate 12 fast break points, putting themselves in good position going into the second half down only one.

SECOND HALF
Auburn was able to quickly increase their lead to five following a fast-break layup by Kevin Overton.

But the Wildcats would not allow the Tigers to gain a comfortable advantage and continued to put the pressure on throughout the second half. Quentin Heady gave the Wildcats a one-point lead with just under 16 minutes to play.

The teams continued to trade blows until Auburn went on an 8-0 run to push the lead back to six with 11:37 to go. The Wildcats then responded with a 7-0 run of their own, capped off by a dunk by Daniel Rouzan.

The teams continued to trade leads all the way to the end. B-CU took the lead with 2:05 left on a Seneca Willoughby three-pointer. The Wildcats had a chance to extend the lead to three, but Kevin Overton came up with a huge block leading to an Auburn score to tie the game.

B-CU then turned the ball over twice, giving Auburn the opportunity to take a four point advantage. But with just five seconds left, redshirt junior Arterio Morris came up clutch with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to one.

The Wildcats quickly fouled and Auburn's Keyshawn Hall was able to extend the lead back to three at the free-throw line. But Morris came up big once again, drawing a foul on a three-point attempt and promptly draining all three free-throws to send the game to overtime.

OVERTIME
Bethune-Cookman took the first lead in overtime off a putback by graduate transfer Ariel Bland.

The Tigers snatched the lead back with an and-one by Keyshawn Hall.

Daniel Rouzan made a layup to put the Wildcats back on top, but turnovers proved costly and provided Auburn the means to take a 90-85 lead with 2:10 to go.

B-CU would not give in and continued to make big plays. Redshirt junior Jordan Johnson made a clutch three-pointer to cut the lead back down to two. Auburn's Tihaad Pettiford rose to occasion, converting a crucial and-one to extend the lead to five and picking up a key block on the other end. The Wildcats were able to force another Tiger turnover, leading to a shooting foul in transition.

Quentin Heady made both free-throws to make it a one-possession game again with :40 seconds remaining. Auburn was finally able to secure the win thanks to Elyjah Freeman, who grabbed his own miss and put it back up for the score with :14 seconds in overtime.

This proved to be too much for the Wildcats to overcome as Auburn survived in their home building.

• The Wildcats were led in scoring by newcomers Quentin Heady and Arterio Morris, who scored 21 and 20 points respectively. Morris finished with a double-double with 10 rebounds while also picking up three steals.
• Daniel Rouzan scored 16 points and had three blocks.
• Seneca Willoughby was the fourth Wildcat to finish in double-figures with 12.
• Keyshawn Hall led the way for the Tigers. He scored 28 points, including hitting 16 of his 18 free-throw attempts. Keshawn Murphy chipped in 17 points on an efficient 8/9 from the floor. Murphy and Elyjah Freeman both grabbed eight rebounds a piece, while Kevin Overton picked up four steals.
• Bethune-Cookman shot better overall than the Tigers by a significant margin, but Auburn was able to generate 38 free-throw attempts compared to only nine for the road team.

The Cats will next head back to the Sunshine State to take on Miami on Thursday, November 6 at 7 a.m. in Coral Gables.

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