Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl picked up a big win Saturday night when his Tigers defeated No. 4 Houston 74-69. However, the biggest story of the game is likely what happened the day before it, as Auburn's first attempted flight to Houston on Friday ended with the pilot turning around the plane and returning to the airport.
Per the pilot's own message to air traffic control, players were fighting on the plane, purportedly leading to ripped clothes and “one bloodied player.” The incident, which was initially reported as “horseplay” that could have escalated into a fight, led to two players — freshman Jahki Howard and senior Ja’Heim Hudson — not making the trip to Houston when the Tigers boarded their second flight late Friday.
After the big win, though, Pearl reportedly did not address the incident at all, which is consistent with what he had said before the game.
“It‘s an unfortunate situation,” Pearl said on the Auburn basketball pregame radio show. “We‘re dealing with it head-on, but I’m not going to comment on it any further tonight.”
Fortunately for the Tigers, they did not need either Howard nor Hudson to pull out a win against the Cougars. Tahaad Pettiford and Johni Broome proved to be Auburn's heroes Saturday night, as both players reached 20 points, with Pettiford scoring his 21 in just 24 minutes.
Additionally, Chaney Johnson, the only other Auburn player to score at least 10 points, recorded an 11-point, 10-rebound double. Broome fell one rebound short of a double-double; he finished the game with 20 points and 9 rebounds in a team-high 33 minutes.
For Houston, consistently one of the best teams in the nation, Emmanuel Sharp and LJ Cryer each had a team-best 13 points, while five Cougars reached double figures. However, they could not stave off a second-half comeback by Auburn, which doubled the number of Houston assists and shot 52.9% from the field, compared to Houston's 41.4%.
Houston (1-1) will try to bounce back on Wednesday when it hosts Louisiana, while Auburn (2-0) will go back home to play Kent State the same day.
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