Lexington, Ky (EETV) - The Auburn Tigers traveled to Lexington to take on the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday. Despite Chuma Okeke’s 14 points and Jared Harper’s 12 points the Tigers fell to the Wildcats 80-53. The loss puts the Tigers at 7-7 in SEC play.
During the post-game press conference Auburn Head Coach Bruce Pearl said, “I thought we legitimately had the chance to come in here and play with them. We were physically overwhelmed.” Pearl also spoke on Kentucky’s defense saying, “Kentucky is one of the best defensive teams in the country. That speaks about their character, competitive spirit, and being winners.”
In addition to Okeke’s 14 points and Harper’s 12, Anfernee McLemore scored 10 points and had eight rebounds. Despite Bryce Brown playing 33 minutes, he ended the game with only six points and one rebound.
This game was odd for Jared Harper. In the press conference Bruce Pearl mentioned, “There hasn't been a game where Jared Harper has never had any assists.” Tonight Harper had zero assists.
On the opposite side of the court, Kentucky's PJ Washington, scored a game-high of 24 points and shot 5-for-8 on 3 pointers. The Wildcats also had seven blocked shots compared to the Tigers’ one.
Kentucky led at half 45-31 after going on a 7-0 run to close out the half. KJ Washington (14) and Tyler Herro (13) combined for 27 of those 45 points.
Auburn will continue to play on the road as the Tigers travel to Athens, Georgia to take on the Bulldogs on Wednesday. The game will be at 8 p.m. CT and can be found on ESPNU.
