AUBURN, Ala. – Representing the Sun Belt Conference, the South Alabama men’s basketball team suffered a 78-67 loss to top-seeded Auburn in the first round of the 2026 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) on Tuesday evening at Neville Arena.
 
Competing in the NIT for the first time since 2007 and fifth time in program history, the Jaguars (21-12) close the 2025-26 campaign with back-to-back 20-win campaigns for the first time since 2009.
 
Senior guard and 2026 Sun Belt Player of the Year Chaze Harris led all players with 29 points on 12-for-26 shooting with eight rebounds and six assists.
 
South Alabama shot 14-for-28 (.500) overall in the first half thanks to 18 points from Harris and 11 more from junior guard Jayden Cooper. The Jaguars outscored Auburn (18-16), 16-6, in the paint and held the home team to just 9-for-36 (.250) shooting to take a 36-30 lead into halftime.
 
Auburn rallied to start the second half, scoring the first six points of the period to tie the game as part of a 13-3 scoring run to take a 43-38 advantage with 15:21 remaining. The Tigers’ lead grew to 13 points on a 3-pointer with 7:28 to go, but the Jaguars were able to shave the deficit to six, 67-61, with 3:40 left. Auburn scored eight-straight points from that moment to grow the margin to 14 with 1:06 to go before closing out the 11-point win.
 
The Tigers shot 15-for-25 (.600) from the floor in the second half, including 11-for-18 (.611) from beyond the arc, as Kevin Overton and Keyshawn Hall scored 21 points apiece to lead the way.