AUSTIN, Texas - Bruce Pearl became the all-time winningest head coach in Auburn basketball history as the Tigers were able to withstand a ferocious rally by the Texas Longhorns and secure an 87-82 victory.
Pearl passed legendary coach Joel Eaves with his 214th win Tuesday night, adding to his long list of accolades as Auburn’s head coach. Pearl has coached the Tigers to four SEC Championships (two regular season, two tournament), as well as five NCAA Tournament appearances. Pearl also led Auburn to its only trip to the Final Four in 2019, an achievement that seemed out of reach when he arrived on the plains.
“I want to reward Auburn for giving me the opportunity,” Pearl said. “I go to work every day trying to reward Auburn for giving me the chance to be their basketball coach and be a part of this Auburn family. I mean it from the bottom of my heart
Star center Johni Broome was the catalyst once again for the Tigers, notching 20 points and 12 rebounds en route to his 70th career double-double. The Tigers also found favorable production from Miles Kelly and Chad Baker-Mazara, as Kelly poured in 18 points and four three-pointers, while Baker-Mazara racked up 16 points and five rebounds. The Tigers relied on veteran leadership to get its seventh Quad One win of the season, as the Longhorns cut the Tigers 21 point lead to three with just a minute remaining.
“It was actually good for us,” Broome said. “Nobody in the huddle panicked. We needed a close ballgame. We needed some adversity, to see how we could handle it.”
Texas made things interesting down the stretch behind an incredible performance from senior Arthur Kaluma. Kaluma recorded 34 points, becoming just the second Longhorn player to score 30+ in a game against an AP No. 2 team, with the other being the great Kevin Durant. The loss for the Longhorns was just their second loss in the Moody Center this season, with the other being to two-time defending national champion UConn.
“Texas is a dangerous team,” Pearl said. “I’m glad we don’t have to play them again, at least in the regular season. Road wins against the better teams in the league, there are not going to be many of those.”
Auburn will be back on the road in their next contest against South Carolina this Saturday at noon on SEC Netowork. Bruce Pearl and co. will look to put this record setting win behind them to avoid an upset loss in what will undoubtedly be a hostile environment. The game will have major AP poll implications with No. 1 Tennessee faltering at No. 8 Florida, the Tigers have their eyes set on the No. 1 spot, and a win in Columbia might get them there.
