Jan. 16, 2016
Kareem Canty's big 3s kept Auburn with Kentucky
By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com
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AUBURN, Ala. -- Bruce Pearl and his basketball team rocked Auburn Arena and the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday.
The Tigers rode the long-range shooting of Kareem Canty and the inside-out game of Tyler Harris to stun nationally-ranked Kentucky 75-70 before a roaring and packed house of 9,121 fans. The victory snapped Auburn's 15-game losing streak to Top 25 teams and snapped an 18-game losing streak to the Wildcats.
"Great effort by our team. Great effort by our program," Pearl said.
Kentucky led 47-35 early in the second half... then Auburn's 3-point shooters got hot. A Canty long jumper put Auburn on top 53-51 and a Harris 3-pointer put Auburn on top 56-51 with 8:27 remaining.
Bruce Pearl and Auburn fans celebrate
Kareem Canty, Tyler Harris come up big down the stretch
Canty led Auburn with 26 points. Harris scored 21 and had 11 rebounds. The Tigers hit 12 3-pointers
Canty's rainbow 3 off the backboard gave Auburn a 61-59 lead with 5:25 left. A Harris putbacck made it 63-61 with 4:49 left, then two Harris free throws made it 65-61.
No. 13 Kentucky tied it at 65-65, went ahead 67-65, but Canty tied it on a driving layup that left him in pain on the court. Auburn called timeout and Canty came out and hit the free throw for the lead.
"We weren't intimidated by the moment," Pearl said.
Auburn improved to 8-8 overall and 2-3 in the Southeastern Conference. Kentucky fell to 13-4 overall and 3-2 in the league.
Auburn played at a frantic pace early and showed no fear of the nationally-ranked Wildcats. The Tigers led at brief intervals, including 11-8 as they revealed their game plan early.
Auburn fired up 16 3-pointers in the first half, hitting six. Kentucky was content to play inside, shooting just seven 3-pointers on the way to a 35-30 halftime lead. The Tigers were right there despite shooting just 28.1 percent from the floor.
Check back to AuburnTigers.com for more stories on the win featuring Bruce Pearl and Auburn players...
Charles Goldberg is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @AUGoldMine