“We are way better than they are” - Bruce Pearl’s son Steven Pearl drops undaunted statement as Auburn faces devastating loss against Yale

Auburn's head coach Bruce Pearl's son, Steven Pearl, fearlessly delivers a resolute statement in the wake of Auburn's heartbreaking defeat against Yale in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

Associate head coach Pearl of the No. 4 seed Auburn Tigers has publicly expressed his support for Junior Guard Chad Baker-Mazara following his ejection from the NCAA Tournament opener against No. 13 seed Yale Bulldogs last Friday.

(L-R) Head coach Bruce Pearl and son Steven Pearl.

Baker-Mazara's removal from the game after just three minutes due to a Flagrant 2 Foul for elbowing opponent guard August Mahoney has been met with regret by the player, who has since apologized to his team multiple times.

Despite the unfortunate outcome, which resulted in Auburn's season-ending defeat with a close score of 78-76, Steven Pearl has called for understanding and support from Auburn fans, highlighting Baker-Mazara's importance to the team and his admirable qualities as a young man.

Steven Pearl also noted that Auburn could have secured a victory by a margin of 20 points if Baker-Mazara had remained in the game, stating:

"We beat Yale by 20 points if Chad is in that game," Steven Pearl said. "I'm not trying to, obviously, disrespect Yale, but we're way better than they are and we should've beaten them without him."

Steven Pearl asked Auburn fans not to hate on Baker-Mazara and instead show their support for the player, who he described as an "unbelievable young man" and a "big part of our program moving forward."

Steven Pearl’s dad and HC Bruce's disagreement with officials' call

Following a thorough review, officials made the call against Baker-Mazara and ordered him to leave the court.

Upon further examination, it appeared that Baker-Mazara had thrown an elbow toward Yale's August Mahoney as they ran down the court. Mahoney immediately signaled for officials' attention, and with 16:59 remaining in the first half, the play was stopped for a review.

Head coach Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers reacts after the ejection of Chad Baker-Mazara.

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl expressed his frustration with the call, stating that while it was indeed inappropriate and a clear flagrant 1, he believed that it was a tough call to elevate it to a flagrant 2.

"Obviously, the decision to flagrant 2 Chad Baker, that's a pretty tough call," Bruce Pearl said (h/t ESPN). "He had gotten hit about five seconds earlier, got tangled up, got a little bit of an elbow. They let it go, maybe nobody saw it, and about five seconds later, Chad hit him. It was inappropriate, clearly a flagrant 1.”

“The fact that it was elevated to a flagrant 2 was a decision that the official had to make, but it's obviously a tremendous impact on the outcome.”

Losing Baker-Mazara was a significant blow for the team, as he was one of their top players and playmakers, averaging 10.3 points per game.

Bruce Pearl received a brief explanation from the officials after the call was made, and he disagreed with their decision to elevate the call to a flagrant 2.

“How many flagrant 2s are there in games versus flagrant 1s?,” Bruce Pearl said. “That'd be a good discussion. Let's just say of all the flagrants, in my experience, 90% maybe 1s."

Despite having several opportunities to tie or win the game, including a missed 3-pointer by K.D. Johnson at the buzzer, Auburn could not overcome the loss of Baker-Mazara and secure a victory.

Recommended Video

Can You Guess These LA Lakers Players Using Just Emojis? | NBA Quiz Challenge!