Auburn began SEC play with back-to-back losses, both of them in down-to-the-wire games. On Saturday night, the Tigers secured their first conference win of the season with very little drama.
Keyshawn Hall scored 30 points on scorching-hot shooting to lead Auburn to a 95-73 win over No. 15 Arkansas inside Neville Arena. Auburn led by 15 points at the break and ballooned the lead to as many as 29 points in the second half.
Hall was unstoppable. He connected on 11 of his 14 shot attempts from the field, including 4 of his 5 treys from beyond the arc. He also made all 4 of his free throw attempts and finished with more assists (5) and turnovers (3).
The 30-point performance was his second in as many games. In the 90-88 loss to Texas A&M last Tuesday, Hall poured in 32 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor.
Hall has done it all for the Tigers this season, leading the team in scoring at over 20 a game, but he has taken his shooting to a different level over the last few outings. Back-to-back triples from him opened the scoring for the Tigers Saturday night.
He had a personal 6-0 spurt early in the first half that was part of a 15-3 run from Auburn to break the game open. The Tigers went from up 2 to up 14 in just under 3 minutes of game time.
Hall connected on an early 3 in the second half as well, then followed it up with a dunk out on the fast break to ignite a little 7-2 spurt.
KeShawn Murphy added 16 points and 10 boards on 6-of-10 shooting as well. As a team, Auburn shot 57% from the field and 45% (10-22) from beyond the arc.
The Tigers dominated in every facet, taking more free throws, making more 3s, grabbing more rebounds, and forcing more turnovers. Auburn had a plus-20 edge in paint points and 9 more second-chance points despite the offensive rebounding numbers being nearly even (9 to 8, in favor of Auburn).
Darius Acuff Jr. led the way for the Razorbacks, who shot just 43% from the field. Acuff scored 19 points, but needed 16 shots to get there. Meleek Thomas added 17 points, 4 assists, and 3 boards. Malique Ewin had 13 and Trevon Brazile had 12.
Karter Knox was held scoreless in 7 minutes before exiting with a hip injury. He did not return.
The Tigers (10-6, 1-2 SEC) battle Mizzou on the road next Wednesday.
Arkansas (12-4, 2-1) will host South Carolina that same night. The Hogs are 3-0 following a loss this season, with an average margin of victory of 25 points in those games.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
