Auburn basketball was far from perfect in its 94-85 victory over Alabama Saturday. But it was just enough to remain atop the SEC ladder.

The Tigers never trailed in the contest, leading by as many as 14 points inside Coleman Coliseum. Alabama fought back, tying the game twice. However, Auburn kept its composure, running the game at its own pace.

“Look, we like to play fast… and we like to shoot the three-ball, too. But I didn’t want a track meet,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said postgame. “I thought our guys did a good job of just slowing it down.”

Auburn knew entering Saturday’s contest that the backcourt matchup would play a major factor in the game’s final decision.

In a first half that was mainly dominated by Johni Broome and Chaney Johnson, the late heroics of Denver Jones and Tahaad Pettiford helped secure the Tigers seventh road conference win.

The Tigers duo combined for 25 second half points. Jones drained three 3-pointers to start the second half, taking every shot he saw suitable.

“Honestly, I was just coming out aggressively. If I had an open look, I was taking it. I was just trusting myself and trusting my teammates,” Jones said. “I know my teammates believe in me. Then it’s just taking that shot, honestly.”

Pettiford’s only made 3-pointer came in the biggest moment of the game. Ater an Alabama run leading to a tie game; Pettiford silenced the raucous crowd giving the Tigers the lead in the final minutes.

His 13 total points were huge as he continues to shine on the biggest stages of collegiate hoops.

“Man, that just goes to show you how great of a player he is. Tahaad, he’s young, but he’s got a lot of things that you just can’t teach — and that’s one of them,” Jones said when talking about Pettiford. “He comes down, and he answers their 6-0 run. He comes down and sparks our run. That just goes to show you how important he is.”

As good as the Tigers guards were on offense, they were just as impressive on defense. Alabama only shot 19% from beyond the arc and held Mark Sears to just two made 3-pointers.

Sears and former Auburn guard Aden Holloway shot a combined 3-of-15 from 3-point land. Pearl raved about his team’s effort on defense, calling Denver Jones one of the best defensive players in college basketball.

“I don’t know when the media’s going to talk about him being one of the best defensive players in college basketball,” Pearl said. I mean, [Mark Sears] is one of the best players in college basketball. Period. And he did a great job on Mark. Made his catches tough, stayed down, stayed between him and the basket. You know, how do you stay in front of [Mark Sears]? Hardly anybody can. [Denver Jones] did, and nobody talked about it. He doesn’t have enough blocked shots, or he doesn’t have enough steals. He’s one of the best defensive players in college basketball. He needs to be on the Naismith All-Defensive team.”

With the Tigers hosting Arkansas in their next contest, that will present another elite backcourt matchup with the Razorbacks DJ Wagner and Johnell Davis.

As of now, Auburn’s backcourt showed why they deserve to be mentioned with the best.

If they are already not the best.

Jerry Humphrey III covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Jerryhump3 or email him at [email protected].