National Basketball Association
Kentucky 64, Auburn 56
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Where: Auburn Arena, Auburn, Alabama
Officials:
# Jeff Clark, # Tony Green, # Mark Whitehead
Attendance:
7959
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 13 Kentucky 64, Auburn 56: Freshman twins Andrew and Aaron Harrison combined to score 26 points - including seven straight during a decisive 9-0 run in the second half - as the visiting Wildcats defeated the stubborn Tigers for the 16th straight time.
Julius Randle recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds for Kentucky (19-5, 9-2 SEC), which tuned up for its showdown with No. 4 Florida on Saturday with its 30th victory in its last 31 meetings with Auburn. Andrew Harrison (16 points) also contributed five rebounds as the Wildcats enjoyed a 49-36 advantage on the boards.
Chris Denson, the SEC's leading scorer at 20.4 points per game, tallied 26 for the Tigers (11-11, 3-8), who were 2-for-16 from 3-point range and shot 32.7 percent from the field. KT Harrell, Auburn's second-leading scorer at 18.9 per game, registered seven and was 2-for-14 from the field while missing all seven of his 3-point attempts.
Auburn didn't score for the final 4:19 of the first half and after Denson picked up his second foul and went to the bench 2:59 prior to the break, Kentucky increased its one-point advantage to 28-22 at intermission. Denson returned to start the second half and erupted for nine points as the Tigers took their first lead 36-35 with 12:26 left.
Five lead changes later, the Wildcats went in front for good as Andrew Harrison's three-point play was followed by Aaron Harrison's basket which made it 50-42 with 4:17 to go. Auburn got as close as five after Denson's three-point play with 3:28 left before Kentucky sealed it by going 11-for-18 from the free-throw line in the final 1:49.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Dakari Johnson contributed eight points and eight rebounds for Kentucky, which last lost to Auburn 66-63 on Jan. 11, 2000. ... Auburn freshman Matthew Atewe recorded six points and a season-best 13 rebounds while matching a season high with four blocks. ... Auburn coach Tony Barbee, a star player under Kentucky coach John Calipari at Massachusetts who also served as his assistant for six seasons at Memphis, has lost all seven games against his mentor.
Top Game Performances
Kentucky |
|
Auburn |
Andrew Harrison 16 |
Scoring |
Chris Denson 26 |
Andrew Harrison 2 |
Assists |
Chris Denson 1 |
Julius Randle 12 |
Rebounds |
Matthew Atewe 13 |
Andrew Harrison 8 |
Free Throws Made |
Chris Denson 9 |
Aaron Harrison 2 |
Steals |
Chris Denson 2 |
Willie Cauley-Stein 1 |
Blocks |
Matthew Atewe 4 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Kentucky
|
64 |
30.9 |
5-12 |
25-40 |
7 |
46 |
3 |
6 |
9 |
Auburn
|
56 |
32.7 |
2-16 |
18-24 |
2 |
33 |
7 |
3 |
8 |