Alabama beat Auburn 87-85 before 13,184 fans at Legacy Arena on Thursday, the first Feud exhibition. Box score, the late run and when the rivals meet next.

Alabama beat Auburn 87-85 at Legacy Arena on Thursday night. It was the first meeting of “The Feud,” a preseason men’s basketball exhibition the two schools agreed to play in downtown Birmingham.

The official attendance was 13,184, according to the box score posted by Alabama Athletics. Auburn said in August that the almost 18,000-seat arena would be split exactly in half, with Auburn fans on one side and Alabama fans on the other.

The result does not count on either team’s record. Alabama finished its preseason 3-0.

How the game was decided

Auburn’s own recap counted 12 lead changes and seven ties. Neither team led by more than seven points.

  • Halftime: Alabama led 44-41 after trailing for much of the first half. Auburn’s biggest lead was 31-25.
  • Second half: a 3-pointer by Qayden Samuels put Alabama up 58-51, its largest lead. Auburn answered with a run and led 78-76 with 3:49 left.
  • The finish: with the game tied at 80, Amari Allen scored five of Alabama’s last seven points. Alabama led 86-85 at the free throw line with 3.9 seconds left. The second free throw missed, and Auburn could not secure the rebound for a last shot.

Allen led Alabama with 23 points and Samuels added 20, according to Alabama’s game recap. Auburn’s Kevin Overton scored a game-high 26 points and made six 3-pointers. Adam Olsen added 12.

Auburn outrebounded Alabama 51-42 despite two players fouling out, Bukky Oboye and Tahaad Pettiford. Alabama outscored Auburn 34-22 in the paint and scored 16 points off 17 Auburn turnovers.

“This game is just preseason and doesn’t go on anybody’s record but it is still Alabama and Auburn and nobody wants to lose this game,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said after the game, in remarks published by the school.

What it means for you

The two teams meet at least twice more this season, both times on campus, Auburn said:

  • Saturday, Jan. 30: Auburn at Alabama
  • Saturday, March 6: Alabama at Auburn’s Neville Arena, the last regular-season game before the SEC Tournament

The nearest chance to see either team before the season starts involves a local school. Auburn closes its preseason against Samford, from Homewood, about five miles south, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, at Neville Arena.

Alabama opens its regular season against Sam Houston at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa. Auburn opens Wednesday, Nov. 4, at home against Southeastern Louisiana.

Neither school has said whether The Feud will return to Birmingham. For more events downtown, see our things to do in Birmingham page.