Auburn men‘s basketball team did not let Friday’s altercation during the flight to Texas distract them from a 74-69 victory over Houston.

After a scoreless college debut, freshman Tahaad Pettiford led the Tigers with 21 points draining four 3-pointers in the contest.

In a game with 13 lead changes and six ties, the Tigers defensive prowess led to them knocking off the No. 4 Cougars.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game:

Defensive presence disrupts Houston offense

Despite four Cougar players finishing with double digit point totals, they shot 41% from the floor as a team.

Auburn forced ten turnovers and scored ten points off of them. They led the contest with seven team blocks and snagged six steals.

In the second half, they held Houston to only two 3-point baskets made and closed out the game at the free throw line holding the Cougars scoreless in the game’s final minutes.

Auburn’s slow start from 3-point range

Auburn started the first half 0-for-7 from 3-point range until Pettiford connected with back-to-back baskets from deep.

Miles Kelly was the only other Tiger to knock down a first half 3-pointer as the Tigers shot 3-for-13 to start.

The Tigers shot 4-for-10 in the second half from deep led by Pettiford’s 15 second half points.

Johni Broome and Chaney Johnson dominate

Johni Broome commanded things for Auburn finishing with 20 points shooting 10-for-15 from the floor.

His 16 points in the second half anchored the Tigers to its second half run as he added nine rebounds to his final stat line.

Chaney Johnson came out firing with nine points in the first half keeping Auburn alive early on in the contest. He finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds only missing two shots all night.