AUBURN | No. 2 Auburn had a 17-point lead with 4:44 to play at Texas and had to hold on late for an 87-82 win Tuesday night.

In the SEC opener, Missouri was able to cut a 26-point deficit to 16 at Neville Arena.

“I'd say the late run against Texas was against our starters, that might be a concern,” said AU coach Bruce Pearl. “Some of the late runs prior to that … were against the bench. It's a 40-minute game. Teams aren't going anywhere.

“To your point, I think that I would say that what we've done offensively in a couple of those games where we may have relaxed a little bit because of the lead and may have thrown some passes and done some things where we should have just finished basic plays and did not, and then all of a sudden, the margin shrunk.”

It was the Tigers’ defense and composure during the final four minutes against the Longhorns that concerned Pearl the most. Texas was able to complete two four-point plays on a technical foul and hook-and-hold.

Texas forward Arthur Kaluma scored nine of his game-high 34 points over the final 4:33 including two 3-pointers.

Offensively, there were also two turnovers that UT converted into four points. But Denver Jones, who committed one of the turnovers, and Tahaad Pettiford made all four of their free throw attempts in the final 17 seconds to clinch a key road win.

“One bad turnover,” said Pearl. “We made our free throws. Kaluma got hot and made shots and made tough shots and contested shots. We had a 17-point lead with four and a half to go. And some of it was self-inflicted and some of it was just Texas making big plays.”

Pearl said they started substituting Pettiford on offense and Dylan Cardwell on defense down the stretch, which is something that could continue in close games.

“(Pettiford) has the speed and quickness to get open and then be in position to get fouled, and that is important that we have that confidence in him playing the game,” said Pearl. “The offensive and defensive substitutions, having Dylan in on defense, having Tahaad in there on offense is a good way of closing out games.”

Auburn, 14-1 overall and 2-0 in the SEC, returns to action Saturday at South Carolina. Tip-off at Colonial Life Arena is scheduled for noon CT on SEC Network.