No. 10 Auburn beats Kentucky, 76-66, maintains two-game SEC lead

No. 10 Auburn beats Kentucky, 76-66, maintains two-game SEC leadNo. 10 Auburn beats Kentucky, 76-66, maintains two-game SEC lead

Feb. 14, 2018

By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com

AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn moved one step closer to an SEC Championship, beating Kentucky 76-66 Wednesday at Auburn Arena to maintain a two-game lead with five to play.

"I'm not sure there was a better environment anywhere in college basketball tonight," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "It was as loud as I've ever heard the building."

Bryce Brown scored 18 points, returning to the lineup after missing a game with a shoulder strain. Jared Harper also scored 18 while distributing seven assists.

"My teammates trust me," said Brown, icing his right shoulder, an injury that had him leaning toward not playing as of Wednesday morning. "Around shootaround it felt pretty good. From there I just decided I was going to play."

Brown was 4-of-5 in the second half, including a 3-pointer that pulled the Tigers within a point, 59-58.

After an Anfernee McLemore steal, Brown's jumper gave Auburn the lead for good, 60-59. Desean Murray's steal, one of nine for Auburn, set up Harper's alley-oop pass for McLemore's slam, a decisive 7-0 run that cranked the noise level to rock concert levels.

Auburn maintained momentum with a Murray tip-in, a Mustpha Heron reverse, and the dagger, a Brown 3-pointer with 1:43 to play that made it 71-64.

"Our conditioning, our toughness, our resilience, our grit. It's why we won the game," Pearl said.

Auburn held its own on the boards against the much larger Wildcats, thanks to 11 rebounds each from McLemore and Murray. Kentucky had 36 rebounds to Auburn's 34.

"They're both unique weapons," Pearl said. "Anfernee's a 6-foot-7, shot blocking 3-point shooter who plays center. That's a tough matchup. Desean's a 6-foot-3 power forward who is as good a rebounder for his size as anyone who has played at Auburn since Barkley."

The No. 10 Tigers survived a cold start - missing their first nine 3-point attempts - by forcing eight turnovers in the first half while committing only one.

Malik Dunbar ended the drought with a 3-pointer, part of a 5-point possession that began with a pair of free throws after an intentional foul on Kentucky.

Auburn made six of its last eight 3-point shots in the first half, including two by McLemore, to lead 39-33 at the half. "I felt confident shooting them," said McLemore, who scored 13 points. "Just another shot to diminish their lead in the first half."

"Our kids do rely on each other, they do trust each other," Pearl said. "And they count on each other. They challenge each other. Those are the things that led us to victory tonight."

Auburn (23-3, 11-2) plays at South Carolina Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT on SECN. The Tigers lead Tennessee by two games in the chase for the conference regular-season title.

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer