Chad Baker-Mazara took over down the stretch as the No. 11 Auburn Tigers beat the No. 4 Houston Cougars 74-69 in the second game of the Mattress Firm Battleground 2k24 event Saturday night in Houston.
Baker-Mazara hit the go-ahead basket, atoned for a turnover by making a steal, and then nailed a pair of made free throws. The game was listed as a neutral-site because it was played at the Toyota Center, home of the Houston Rockets, rather than the Cougars’ campus arena.
Baker-Mazara’s short hook shot in the lane resulted in the 13th and final lead change of the game and a 68-67 Auburn lead. He even corralled a loose ball on the penultimate Houston possession, which forced the Cougars to foul in trying to extend the game.
The Tigers’ Tahaad Pettiford had a game high 21 points, Johni Broome had 20, with 16 coming in the second half, and Chaney Johnson added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Houston’s LJ Cryer and Emmanuel Sharp each had 13 points, and J’Wan Roberts had 12 points and seven rebounds. Milos Uzan and Joseph Tugler added 10 points apiece.
Auburn took its first lead at 11-10 on a 5-0 run, highlighted by Dylan Cardwell’s steal and coast-to-coast drive for a two-hand dunk.
Pettiford then capped an 8-0 run with back-to-back 3-pointers, the first from the top of the key, the second a leaning trey from the wing that banked in off the glass, to give the Tigers their biggest lead of the first half at 19-12 and prompt Houston coach Kelvin Sampson to call a timeout with 7:36 to go.
A deep trey by Sharp as the shot clock expired cut the Auburn lead to 24-23. But on a sideline out-of-bounds play on their next possession, Auburn’s Miles Kelly banked in another 3-pointer, this time from 30 feet.
Houston then closed the first half on an 8-2 run, which was punctuated by Terrance Arceneaux’s 3-pointer, to give the Cougars a 33-28 lead.
Auburn fell behind by nine early in the second half, but Broome scored the first four points of another 8-0 burst. The second of those baskets was a two-hand power slam
Cryer missed a jumper on Houston’s next possession, and Broome’s rebound and outlet pass led to a Chris Moore reverse layup and a Cougars’ time out.
With the game tied at 51, Houston went on a 5-0 run. Sharp drilled his second 3-pointer of the night with 6:13 left as the Cougars went ahead 56-51.
Auburn responded immediately with a 6-0 burst, capped by a trey from Baker-Mazara to give the Tigers a 57-56 lead at 5:13. It was Auburn’s first lead since the four-minute mark of the first half.
