Overton, Pettiford help Auburn beat Tulsa 92-86 in OT for 1st NIT championship

Mon, April 6, 2026 at 3:08 AM UTC

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1 / 0NCAA Tulsa Auburn NIT BasketballAuburn forward Filip Jovic (38) shoots past Tulsa forward David Green, right, during the first half of the NCAA college basketball NIT Championship game, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) ()

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Overton had 26 points, Tahaad Pettiford scored 24 and Auburn took advantage of a late 5-second violation in regulation to beat Tulsa 92-86 in overtime on Sunday night and win its first NIT championship.

Ade Popoola sank a 3-pointer to give Tulsa a 76-71 lead with 1:05 left in regulation. Pettiford hit a 3-pointer with 44 seconds remaining and Elyjah Freeman made the second of two free throws following two foul shots by Tulsa's Tyler Behrend for a 78-75 lead. But the Golden Hurricane couldn't inbound the ball following Freeman's make and Overton buried a baseline 3-pointer with eight seconds left to force OT.

Overton hit his fifth 3 to put Auburn (22-16) up 89-84 and the Tigers led over the final 3:31 of the extra period.

Overton hit 7 of 13 shots and 7 of 8 free throws. Pettiford had four 3-pointers and eight assists. Keyshawn Hall totaled 11 points and 12 rebounds. Sebastian Williams-Adams added 13 points off the bench and Filip Jovic scored 12.

David Green had 25 points, Tylen Riley scored 20 and Popoola added 13 for Tulsa (30-8), which finished with the second most wins in program history.

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Pettiford had 15 points by halftime and Overton scored 14 for a 48-31 advantage after jumping out to a 34-13 lead.

Tulsa trailed 55-35, but Green had six straight points and scored eight in a 12-0 run to cut it to 57-51 with 12:18 remaining. Pettiford made two free throws to end the run, but Green and Miles Barnstable followed with 3-pointers and Green added two foul shots to tie. Riley hit two free throws to extend a 24-2 run and Tulsa took its first lead 61-59 with 10:26 left.

Tulsa won NIT titles in 1981 and 2001.

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Source: “AOL Sports”