Auburn Falls To Hawaii in final game of Diamond Head Classic

I needed a drink after that one.

Auburn and Hawaii were very close in a number of statistical categories. Auburn was 23-55, Hawaii 22-54 in Field Goals. Auburn 12-29, Hawaii 10-21 in three pointers.

Oh, Hawaii was 25-34 on free throws, while Auburn was 9-13.

Auburn could have done a number of things better in this one, that's for sure, but any time one team shoots 21 more free throws than another, there's some strange things going on.

College officials are bad in general, but these were the worst.

Tyler Harris and Horace Spencer both fouled out, while Kareem Canty came very close. Canty finished with four fouls, and he had those four with probably 5+ minutes to play. The only bright spot for Auburn was Canty and Bryce Brown shooting well from beyond the arc.

The game really turned when Auburn had a big run in the middle of the second half and took their largest lead. After a four point play on a late whistle called against Tyler Harris and Hawaii pulled within 5, the whole game flipped. After a few more questionable fouls, Bruce Pearl was called for a Technical due to his reaction to the calls.

It's really a shame the refs took over this game, too. Just looking at the statistics, you can see it was an evenly matched game that could have been a lot of fun. Instead, the refs took over and the game was nigh unwatchable over the final 9 minutes.

Auburn returns home to face Tennessee in the first game of conference play next Saturday at Auburn Arena. Hopefully we'll have TJ Dunans back soon, and know the status of Danjel Purifoy before long, as well.

War Eagle. Always.