Reeves, No. 22 Kentucky end 13th-ranked Auburn's home winning streak, 70-59
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) Antonio Reeves and Kentucky stripped away Auburn’s aura of invincibility at home.
Reeves scored 22 points and No. 22 Kentucky led throughout to beat cold-shooting Auburn 70-59 on Saturday night, ending the 13th-ranked Tigers' 16-game home winning streak that had included two straight routes of ranked teams.
The Wildcats (18-7, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) held Auburn to 30.9% shooting and responded to every challenge in the second half. Kentucky coach John Calipari said having a player take over a big game like Reeves did is an encouraging sign for the NCAA Tournament.
“Today was Antonio,” Calipari said. "When one guy can go do what he did in those games, it’s huge.
“We have multiple guys that can go and do stuff like that.”
The Tigers (20-6, 9-4), who had been second in the conference behind No. 15 Alabama, lost their second-leading scorer, Jaylin Williams, to a right knee injury midway through the second half. Williams was helped off the court after going down underneath the basket and finished with just three points on 1-of-5 shooting.
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said Williams would have an MRI on Sunday.
“We were in range when he got hurt," Pearl said.
Johni Broome and Chad Baker-Mazara scored 14 each for Auburn. Denver Jones scored 12.
Adou Thiero, who started with Tre Mitchell out with a left shoulder injury, had 14 points and eight rebounds for Kentucky. Rob Dillingham added 11 points.
“Coming into the game, nobody believed we were going to win the game," said Kentucky center Ugonna Onyenso, who had seven points and 11 rebounds. “Nobody really believed in us, so we came into the game with nothing to lose.”
Broome’s layup cut Auburn's deficit to five points with about 13 minutes remaining. Then Reeves took over, scoring 13 of Kentucky’s next 17 points. When he was done, the Wildcats were up a game-high 16 points, 64-48.
Reeves said he was determined to play physical down the stretch and Auburn had little answer for his drives.
“I just got it going after that, and the guys looked for me at the end of the game,” Reeves said.
Kentucky's Justin Edwards fouled out with four points.
The Tigers struggled after dominating No. 11 South Carolina 101-61 on Wednesday night, following an 18-point win over the Crimson Tide. Broome and Williams combined for nine 3-pointers versus the Gamecocks but missed all five attempts on Saturday.
“Kentucky can guard and they can turn it up when they want to, and they outplayed us tonight,” Pearl said. “We knew their guards were excellent and late in the game when it came down to just getting decent shots and keeping us at bay, they were able to do that.”
BIG PICTURE
Kentucky: Controlled Auburn's frontcourt of Broome and Williams for a win to stay in the thick of the SEC race. The Wildcats had dropped the past three meetings at Neville Arena and five of the last six.
Auburn: The Tigers faltered in an effort to post wins over ranked teams in consecutive games for the first time since their Final Four run in 2019. Normally strong at home, they never got it going and suffered their first home loss this season. They made 4 of 22 3-pointers (18.2%).
ALL-STAR TRIP
Calipari planned to head to Indianapolis for the All-Star game on Sunday. Seven of his former players were selected.
“The most ever from one school in an All-Star game was four - that’s by us. So we’ve got seven," the Wildcats coach said.
UP NEXT
Kentucky: Visits LSU on Wednesday night.
Auburn: Visits Georgia on Feb. 24.
---
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
---
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
Copyright 2024 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Ugonna Onyenso vs. Johni Broome (Tigers gains possession) | |||
19:36 | Tre Donaldson turnover (bad pass) | |||
19:20 | D.J. Wagner misses three point jump shot | |||
19:18 | D.J. Wagner offensive rebound | |||
19:05 | +2 | Justin Edwards makes two point dunk (D.J. Wagner assists) | 2-0 | |
18:48 | Chris Moore misses three point jump shot | |||
18:46 | Ugonna Onyenso defensive rebound | |||
18:39 | Antonio Reeves misses three point jump shot | |||
18:37 | Tre Donaldson defensive rebound | |||
18:16 | +2 | Johni Broome makes two point layup | 2-2 | |
17:49 | +2 | Ugonna Onyenso makes two point jump shot (Adou Thiero assists) | 4-2 | |
17:25 | Denver Jones misses three point jump shot | |||
17:23 | Adou Thiero defensive rebound | |||
17:03 | D.J. Wagner misses three point jump shot | |||
17:01 | Johni Broome defensive rebound | |||
16:35 | Denver Jones misses two point layup | |||
16:32 | Chris Moore offensive rebound | |||
16:19 | Denver Jones misses two point jump shot | |||
16:17 | Ugonna Onyenso defensive rebound | |||
16:05 | Adou Thiero misses two point layup | |||
16:03 | Justin Edwards offensive rebound | |||
15:58 | +2 | Justin Edwards makes two point layup | 6-2 | |
15:49 | Denver Jones turnover (lost ball) (Reed Sheppard steals) | |||
15:38 | Tre Donaldson personal foul | |||
15:38 | TV timeout | |||
15:35 | +2 | Rob Dillingham makes two point layup (Reed Sheppard assists) | 8-2 | |
15:21 | Chad Baker-Mazara misses two point jump shot | |||
15:20 | Adou Thiero defensive rebound | |||
15:13 | Rob Dillingham turnover (bad pass) | |||
15:00 | Dylan Cardwell turnover (lost ball) | |||
14:34 | Adou Thiero misses two point jump shot | |||
14:32 | Ugonna Onyenso offensive rebound | |||
14:26 | +3 | Rob Dillingham makes three point jump shot (Ugonna Onyenso assists) | 11-2 | |
14:10 | Chaney Johnson misses three point jump shot | |||
14:08 | Ugonna Onyenso defensive rebound | |||
13:57 | K.D. Johnson shooting foul (Rob Dillingham draws the foul) | |||
13:57 | Rob Dillingham misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
13:57 | Rob Dillingham misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
13:57 | Chad Baker-Mazara defensive rebound | |||
13:47 | Adou Thiero personal foul | |||
13:44 | +3 | Chad Baker-Mazara makes three point jump shot (Jaylin Williams assists) | 11-5 | |
13:22 | Chad Baker-Mazara blocks Antonio Reeves's two point layup | |||
13:20 | Chad Baker-Mazara defensive rebound | |||
13:12 | Chad Baker-Mazara turnover (bad pass) (Jordan Burks steals) | |||
13:12 | K.D. Johnson shooting foul (Antonio Reeves draws the foul) | |||
13:12 | +1 | Antonio Reeves makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 12-5 | |
13:12 | +1 | Antonio Reeves makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 13-5 | |
12:56 | +2 | Dylan Cardwell makes two point layup (Chad Baker-Mazara assists) | 13-7 | |
12:30 | K.D. Johnson blocks Rob Dillingham's two point jump shot | |||
12:28 | Chad Baker-Mazara defensive rebound | |||
12:21 | Aaron Bradshaw blocks Aden Holloway's two point layup | |||
12:19 | Dylan Cardwell offensive rebound | |||
12:12 | +2 | Jaylin Williams makes two point dunk (Dylan Cardwell assists) | 13-9 | |
12:04 | Rob Dillingham turnover (lost ball) (K.D. Johnson steals) | |||
11:57 | Jaylin Williams misses three point jump shot | |||
11:55 | Rob Dillingham defensive rebound | |||
11:43 | +2 | D.J. Wagner makes two point layup | 15-9 | |
11:19 | K.D. Johnson turnover (lost ball) (Rob Dillingham steals) | |||
11:13 | +3 | Antonio Reeves makes three point jump shot (Rob Dillingham assists) | 18-9 | |
11:01 | Tigers 30 second timeout | |||
11:01 | TV timeout | |||
10:49 | Denver Jones misses three point jump shot | |||
10:47 | Antonio Reeves defensive rebound | |||
10:39 | Tre Donaldson shooting foul (Ugonna Onyenso draws the foul) | |||
10:39 | Ugonna Onyenso misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
10:39 | +1 | Ugonna Onyenso makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 19-9 | |
10:23 | Justin Edwards personal foul (Johni Broome draws the foul) | |||
10:13 | Ugonna Onyenso blocks Johni Broome's two point layup | |||
9:44 | D.J. Wagner misses two point jump shot | |||
9:42 | Johni Broome defensive rebound | |||
9:38 | D.J. Wagner personal foul (Jaylin Williams draws the foul) | |||
9:36 | Jaylin Williams misses three point jump shot | |||
9:34 | Chad Baker-Mazara offensive rebound | |||
9:29 | Aden Holloway misses three point jump shot | |||
9:27 | Adou Thiero defensive rebound | |||
9:19 | Justin Edwards misses three point jump shot | |||
9:17 | Chad Baker-Mazara defensive rebound | |||
9:06 | Aden Holloway misses three point jump shot | |||
9:04 | Johni Broome offensive rebound | |||
8:59 | Johni Broome misses two point jump shot | |||
8:57 | Ugonna Onyenso defensive rebound | |||
8:36 | Antonio Reeves misses two point layup | |||
8:34 | Aden Holloway defensive rebound | |||
8:29 | Official timeout | |||
8:29 | TV timeout | |||
8:10 | D.J. Wagner shooting foul (Chris Moore draws the foul) | |||
8:10 | +1 | Chris Moore makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 19-10 | |
8:10 | Chris Moore misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
8:10 | Antonio Reeves defensive rebound | |||
7:47 | Rob Dillingham misses two point jump shot | |||
7:45 | Denver Jones defensive rebound | |||
7:24 | +3 | Denver Jones makes three point jump shot (K.D. Johnson assists) | 19-13 | |
7:12 | +2 | Reed Sheppard makes two point jump shot | 21-13 | |
6:53 | K.D. Johnson misses two point layup | |||
6:51 | Ugonna Onyenso defensive rebound | |||
6:37 | Reed Sheppard misses two point jump shot | |||
6:35 | Denver Jones defensive rebound | |||
6:29 | +2 | Johni Broome makes two point layup (Denver Jones assists) | 21-15 | |
6:12 | Rob Dillingham misses two point layup | |||
6:09 | Wildcats offensive rebound | |||
6:00 | +2 | Adou Thiero makes two point layup | 23-15 | |
6:00 | Chaney Johnson shooting foul (Adou Thiero draws the foul) | |||
6:00 | +1 | Adou Thiero makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 24-15 | |
5:39 | K.D. Johnson misses two point jump shot | |||
5:37 | Wildcats defensive rebound | |||
5:20 | Adou Thiero turnover (lost ball) (Chris Moore steals) | |||
5:15 | Chris Moore turnover (lost ball) (Reed Sheppard steals) | |||
5:12 | +2 | Adou Thiero makes two point alley-oop dunk (Antonio Reeves assists) | 26-15 | |
5:12 | Chris Moore shooting foul (Adou Thiero draws the foul) | |||
5:12 | +1 | Adou Thiero makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 27-15 | |
5:00 | Denver Jones misses two point jump shot | |||
4:58 | Tigers offensive rebound | |||
4:52 | +2 | Johni Broome makes two point layup | 27-17 | |
4:30 | Rob Dillingham misses three point jump shot | |||
4:28 | Tre Donaldson defensive rebound | |||
4:21 | Rob Dillingham shooting foul (Tre Donaldson draws the foul) | |||
4:21 | +1 | Tre Donaldson makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 27-18 | |
4:21 | Tre Donaldson misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
4:21 | Wildcats defensive rebound | |||
4:02 | Rob Dillingham misses two point jump shot | |||
4:00 | Tre Donaldson defensive rebound | |||
3:53 | Tre Donaldson misses two point jump shot | |||
3:52 | Lior Berman offensive rebound | |||
3:52 | Antonio Reeves personal foul | |||
3:53 | TV timeout | |||
3:49 | +2 | Dylan Cardwell makes two point layup (Chaney Johnson assists) |