This story has been updated to include quotes and new information.
BIRMINGHAM — Auburn basketball was without its best scorer in crunch time of its heartbreaker defeat to No. 2 Houston on Sunday, Nov. 16, as UCF transfer Keyshawn Hall exited with 4:14 remaining. The Tigers stayed in it, but they couldn’t get a go-ahead basket on the final possession of a 73-72 loss.
Hall’s exit came after drawing a foul at the basket, where he appeared to land awkwardly on his right foot. He was able to stand up under his own power and actually returned to convert both free throw attempts, cutting Houston’s lead to 68-66. He was immediately subbed out for Kevin Overton, however, and he made his way to the team locker room.
Hall returned to the bench with 1:54 to go and the Tigers trailing 73-69, but he never got back on the court.
Head coach Steven Pearl didn’t have an update on Hall’s status postgame, but he spoke to how his team responded with its leading scorer sidelined.
“I thought our guys did a really good job of picking him up and playing well without him,” Pearl said. “I think our plus/minus was a positive when he went out of the game, so that’s a credit to our guys and it’s just next man up mentality. They were locked in and defensively, made a lot of plays. But yeah, he’s obviously a guy that late in the game would be another good option that would get downhill and draw contact and potentially get to the foul line.”
Hall ended with a team-high 20 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes. Through three games, Hall was Auburn‘s team leader in points (26.5) and rebounds (11) per game.
Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter. To support Adam’s work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.