Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford ‘found his shot’ in loss to Alabama

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On Saturday, Tahaad Pettiford had a big game for the Tigers despite the 93-91 overtime loss to the Crimson Tide. He was especially key in the first half as Alabama was attempting to stretch out a lead. Pettiford was second on the team with 19 points and was four for eight from beyond the three-point line.

Denver Jones returned to the lineup as starter at point guard after missing the Texas A&M game due to injury on Tuesday night. Pettiford played heavy minutes at 34, with Jones still not 100% healthy. The freshman also had six assists and ran the offense efficiently.

“Just going off what we go over in practice,” Pettiford said. “We knew how the defense was going to play, so just reading it, coming off screens and just finding my shot.”

He scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half. Late in the half, Pettiford responded to two Alabama three-pointers to keep the Tigers within five points. After Chris Youngblood put Alabama up 34-26 with 6:23 remaining, Pettiford connected to make the score 34-29. He did the same on the following possession after Grant Nelson put the Crimson Tide up 37-29.

On defense he had the shared responsibility of defending Alabama star point guard Mark Sears. Before the game-winning shot, Sears was held to 3-8 shooting and just seven points. Pettiford was asked after the game on guarding Sears. “Just his ability to get downhill with his left and finish. He’s a strong guard and also a threat at the three-point line, so we just had to worry about him shooting threes, trying to get him off the line and being a great finisher.” Auburn held Sears to one of four from deep but could not stop him before the final shot.

It has been a good regular season for Pettiford. He averages 11.6 points per game and is a consistent threat from the three-point line shooting 39%. What is even more impressive is the type of teammate he has been. His willingness to come off the bench just adds to the depth of this Auburn team. They will need his production to continue…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/auburn-guard-tahaad-pettiford-found-130517829.html

Author : Auburn Wire

Publish date : 2025-03-10 13:05:00

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