{"id":700735,"date":"2026-04-06T03:39:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T03:39:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/700735\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T03:39:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T03:39:37","slug":"auburn-blows-21-point-lead-recovers-to-beat-tulsa-for-nit-title-field-level-media-professional-sports-content-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/700735\/","title":{"rendered":"Auburn blows 21-point lead, recovers to beat Tulsa for NIT title – Field Level Media – Professional sports content solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kevin Overton netted 26 points, including a deep 3-pointer and a free throw in the final two minutes of overtime, and Auburn won its first NIT championship in a wild 92-86 win over Tulsa on Sunday night in Indianapolis. <\/p>\n

An NCAA Tournament Final Four team one year ago, the Tigers (22-16) wasted a 21-point first-half lead, but rallied in the final 10 seconds for overtime. They then outscored Tulsa 14-8 in the extra frame for the victory.<\/p>\n

Tahaad Pettiford had 24 points and eight assists and Sebastian Williams-Adams tallied 13 points for the Tigers. Elyjah Freeman had six points, including two free throws with 11 seconds left in OT, and 14 rebounds.<\/p>\n

Filip Jovic scored 12 points, while Keyshawn Hall had 11 and 12 boards, but both fouled out late in regulation. <\/p>\n

A two-time NIT champion, the Golden Hurricane (30-8) used a 22-2 run to take the lead with 10:26 left in regulation. <\/p>\n

Tulsa\u2019s David Green had 25 points and six rebounds and Tylen Riley added 20 points. Ade Popoola scored 13 points.<\/p>\n

With Tulsa trailing 48-31 at halftime, Green\u2019s three-point play at 14:10 put the squad back in the contest, as the group trailed 57-45. Riley\u2019s spinning layup at 12:58 made it 57-49 and forced an Auburn timeout during a 10-0 Tulsa run.<\/p>\n

Miles Barnstable\u2019s trey, Green\u2019s two free throws and Riley\u2019s pair from the line extended that run to 22-2 and put Tulsa ahead 61-59.<\/p>\n

After Auburn forced a five-second turnover on an inbounds play while down by three, Overton drilled a corner 3-pointer to force overtime at 78-all. <\/p>\n

With Auburn great Charles Barkley courtside, Jovic, a bruising 6-foot-8 freshman, started strong with back-to-back dunks as the Tigers used a 7-0 run for a 9-2 lead just over two minutes into the title game. Williams-Adams sank a 3-pointer at 13:58 to push it to a 16-4 advantage.<\/p>\n

The American Conference school went 8 1\/2 minutes without a field goal until Popoola\u2019s layup at 10:51 made it 23-9.<\/p>\n

Tulsa cut it to 39-26 on Tyler Behrend\u2019s layup at 3:30, and Green\u2019s 10 points led the way. However, the team shot only 38.5% (10 of 26) from the field.<\/p>\n

Pettiford and Overton scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, as Auburn made 16 of 31 (51.7%) shots overall and led by 17 at the break.<\/p>\n

\u2013Field Level Media<\/p>\n

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