Auburn basketball’s Elyjah Freeman makes all-time play to take down Kentucky

Auburn Tigers men’s basketball came out on top 75-74 against Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball on Saturday at Neville Arena, ending a five-game losing streak and improving to 15-12 overall and 6-8 in SEC play. Kentucky fell to 17-10 and 8-6 in the conference, absorbing its third consecutive defeat.

It all came down to the final 1.2 seconds. Behind 74-71 with 18.8 seconds left, Auburn closed the game on a 4-0 run. Tahaad Pettiford converted two free throws with 14 seconds to make it 74-73. After the Wildcats Collin Chandler committed an offensive foul, the Tigers regained possession. Mouhamed Dioubate blocked Kevin Overton’s drive, and KeShawn Murphy missed a put-back attempt. On Auburn’s third opportunity at the rim, Elyjah Freeman tipped in the miss to give the Tigers a 75-74 lead. Kentucky mishandled the ensuing inbounds pass and failed to attempt a final shot.

WHAT A WILD ENDING IN AUBURN

Tigers get a big win over Kentucky! pic.twitter.com/Z3l7ij2m0x

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) February 22, 2026

Murphy scored a career-high 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 1-for-1 from three-point range, and went 6-for-6 at the foul line. He recorded 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double and blocked two shots. Seventeen of his 25 points came after halftime, helping the Tigers erase a nine-point second-half deficit. Freeman added 11 points off the bench, while Overton and Keyshawn Hall each scored 10. Hall also contributed nine rebounds and seven assists despite shooting 3-for-15. Auburn’s bench outscored the Wildcats 16-8.

Kentucky led 39-35 at halftime after closing the opening period on a 7-0 run. Otega Oweh scored a career-high 29 points on 11-of-20 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds, including 17 points in the second half. Denzel Aberdeen scored 15 points, and Chandler had 10, though he committed five of the Wildcats 14 turnovers. Kentucky shot 36.7 percent (11-of-30) in the second half and 26 percent from three-point range.

Along with forcing 14 turnovers, the Tigers swiped nine steals. Entering the game allowing 40 percent three-point shooting in SEC play, Auburn limited the Wildcats’ perimeter efficiency and recovered from making just 2 of 11 layup attempts in the first half. Next up, the Tigers will visit Oklahoma to take on the Sooners on Tuesday.

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