Auburn Drops Heartbreaker to Texas A&M as Buzzer Beater Waived Off

AUBURN, Ala. – KeShawn Murphy hit a 35-foot shot at the buzzer, and Auburn celebrated what it thought was a wild comeback win, but after a video review, the officials waved off the bucket, ruling Murphy did not release the ball in time, giving Texas A&M a 90-88 victory Tuesday at Neville Arena.

Auburn hit an insane shot for the win…but they didn’t get it off in time

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— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 7, 2026

“Heartbreaker,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “I thought we played really good basketball for the first 26 minutes. Credit to them. They made plays in pressure and we made some really silly mistakes.”

Trailing by two points with .6 left on the clock, Auburn inbounded to Murphy who caught the ball, spun and fired a high-arcing shot that swished through the net, sending the Jungle into a delirious celebration.

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After conferring at the scorer’s table for a couple minutes, the officials determined that the ball was still in Murphy’s hands when the final tenth of a second transpired.

“I don’t have a clear understanding of what they were going off of,” Pearl said. “From the angles I saw, it looked like the ball was out of his hands on the red light. I would imagine they had a different angle they were looking at.

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“Everyone thinks the game’s over. Sure enough, they made a decision that it was on his fingertips. It’s devastating.”

Auburn trailed by eight points with 1:04 to play before Keyshawn Hall scored seven straight points in the final minute to pull within one point. Hall recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 32 points and 12 rebounds.

Leading by 10 at the half, Auburn extended its lead to 16 on a pair of free throws with 13:29 remaining.

Taking advantage of three consecutive Auburn turnovers, the Aggies scored 11 unanswered points in 31 seconds with a layup, a pair of 3-pointers and 3-point play, quickly erasing most of the Tigers’ lead to pull within five.

“They did an unbelievable job of executing and converting off those turnovers,” Pearl said. “Fatigue set in a little bit. That was the difference in the game right there. We weren’t able to take care of the ball and they made shots. They made us pay.”

Elyjah Freeman ended the run with a jumper, then Freeman drove the lane and soared for a crowd-pleasing dunk for a 67-63 Auburn lead with 9:33 to play.

Texas A&M’s Pop Isaacs then hit three 3-pointers in the next 1:16 to start a 15-0 run that transformed Auburn’s four-point lead into an 11-point Aggies advantage with 6:49 to play. Isaacs scored a team-high 21 points for Texas A&M (12-3, 2-0).

After being outscored 33-6 in a span of 6 minutes and 14 seconds, Auburn regrouped down the stretch.

Kevin Overton hit a corner 3-pointer to pull the Tigers within seven with 2:28 remaining. The Aggies made a deep second-chance 3-pointer to go ahead by 88-80 with 1:04 on the clock.

Hall scored Auburn’s last eight points in the final 42 seconds, including a putback and a free throw to trim Texas A&M’s lead to 88-85 with 32 seconds left.

“Really proud of that but we’ve got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot,” Pearl said.

Auburn got the ball back down three with the shot clock turned off. Hall grabbed an offensive rebound and made a pair of free throws to trim Texas A&M’s lead to one with 7 seconds left.

Auburn then fouled the Aggies, who made a pair of free throws to go back up by three with six seconds remaining.

Texas A&M fouled Hall, who made the first free throw with five seconds left. He missed the second free throw, leading to a held ball that went to the Aggies, who were fouled but missed both free throws with two seconds left, leading to Murphy’s last-second launch after a video review to determine if the second free throw hit the rim.

Auburn ended a back-and-forth first half on a 9-0 run to take a 47-37 halftime lead.

Hall scored 17 points in the first half to help the Tigers overcome an early eight-point deficit.

Auburn played all but seven minutes without Filip Jovic, who did not return from a first half knee injury.

“Him not being in was huge because it led to guys having to play a few too many minutes,” Pearl said.

The Tigers (9-6, 0-2) remain at Neville Arena Saturday, hosting No. 15 Arkansas at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN in a Wear Navy game that features free shakers and t-shirts for Auburn University students.

“Are we going to pout about or are we going to get on to the next one,” Pearl said. “I’m proud of these kids. I’m incredibly proud of their grit and their fight.”

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer