AUBURN, Ala. — Antonio 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.
The Wildcats (18-7, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) held Auburn to 30.9% shooting and responded to every challenge in the second half.
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 an apparent 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.
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.
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.
Kentucky's Justin Edwards fouled out with four points.
The Tigers struggled after dominating No. 11 South Carolina 101-61 on Wednesday night. Broome and Williams combined for nine 3-pointers in that game but missed all five attempts on Saturday.
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%).
UP NEXT
Kentucky: Visits LSU on Wednesday night.
Auburn: Visits Georgia on Feb. 24.
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