The Auburn Tigers were looking to end a historical drought on Saturday by pulling off a win at Kentucky, and snapping a 35-year losing streak to the Wildcats at Rupp Arena.
Both teams played tight for a while, but a score from Kentucky’s Jacob Toppin with 5:03 to go in the first half gave them a lead that they would not relinquish, and a second half of shooting 56.7% from the field allowed Kentucky to cruise to an 86-54 win on Saturday.
Kentucky stayed consistent in the shooting department, by connecting on 56% of their shots throughout the game. Oscar Tshiebwe and Jacob Toppin combined to record 29 rebounds while Auburn as a team created just 23 boards.
Auburn kicked off the game in style with a three-pointer by [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] to give the Tigers the early 3-0 lead with 19:32 remaining in the first half. Each team would trade leads multiple times through the first 15 minutes of the game before Kentucky gained control with 5:03 left in the half.
Kentucky’s Jacob Toppin made a second-chance layup with 5:03 in the first half to give the Wildcats the 26-25 lead. From there, Kentucky went on a 14-4 run to go into the locker room with a 40-29 halftime lead.
Allen Flanigan made a layup to open the second half, which cut Kentucky’s lead back to nine, 40-31. However, it would be the last time that the Tigers would be that close to the Wildcats, as Chris Livingston would answer with a layup to put his squad back in front, 42-31, with 18:43 left in regulation.
The Wildcats would go on to build a lead as high as 40 points in the final stanza. Cason Wallace connected on a jump shot with 2:30 remaining in the game to put Kentucky up, 86-46, their largest lead of the game.
[autotag]Jaylin Willams[/autotag] and Johni Broome paced the team in points with 13 and 12 respectively. [autotag]Dylan Cardwell[/autotag] lead the team in boards with five, and [autotag]Wendell Green Jr.[/autotag] led in assists with two.
Auburn will travel to Tuscaloosa on Wednesday for the final road game of the regular season. Tipoff between Auburn and No. 2 Alabama is set for 6 p.m. CT.
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