National Basketball Association
Kentucky 72, Texas A&M 68
When: 6:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 2, 2013
Where: Reed Arena, College Station, Texas
Officials:
# Antinio Petty, # Patrick Adams, # Pat Evans
Attendance:
10558
By SportsDirect Inc.
Kentucky 72, Texas A&M 68 (OT): Nerlens Noel scored 19 points, including a free throw with 2:27 remaining in overtime that proved to be the game-winner, and grabbed 14 rebounds as the visiting Wildcats held on for the SEC overtime victory.
Guard Julius Mays scored a career-high 19 points, including three free throws in the final 15.8 seconds to seal it for Kentucky (15-6, 6-2), which never trailed.
Senior guard Elston Turner scored a game-high 21 points for Texas A&M (13-8, 3-5), including a jumper that forced overtime, but missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with five seconds left in the extra period that rolled in and came out. Guard Fabyon Harris added 14 points and forward Ray Turner finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Aggies, who lost for the fifth time in six games.
Kentucky, which suffered its first home SEC loss under John Calipari in the first meeting with the Aggies on Jan. 12, raced out to a 9-0 lead with Noel scoring six of the points with a jumper and a pair of dunks. A&M answered with a 9-0 run of its own capped by a Jarod Jahns layup to tie it. But Kentucky ended the half on a 17-7 run to lead 30-21 at halftime.
The Aggies cut the deficit to 47-46 on a pair of Harris free throws with 10:01 to go, but Kentucky gradually pulled away, leading 60-52 after a long 3-pointer by Mays barely beat the shot clock. Texas A&M, though, closed regulation with a 10-2 run to force overtime with Turner sinking a 17-footer from the right side of the key that hit the front of the rim and bounced in with 1.4 seconds remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The game marked the first time a defending national champion played the Aggies in College Station. ... Noel has grabbed six or more rebounds in every game this season. ... Kentucky has won five of its last six games.
Top Game Performances
| Kentucky |
|
Texas A&M |
|
Julius Mays 19 |
Scoring |
Elston Turner 21 |
|
Ryan Harrow 3 |
Assists |
J-Mychal Reese 4 |
|
Nerlens Noel 14 |
Rebounds |
Ray Turner 11 |
|
Julius Mays 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Elston Turner 6 |
|
Ryan Harrow 1 |
Steals |
Alex Caruso 2 |
|
Kyle Wiltjer 3 |
Blocks |
Ray Turner 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Kentucky
|
72 |
47.7 |
7-15 |
23-34 |
13 |
30 |
5 |
3 |
19 |
| Texas A&M
|
68 |
39.3 |
2-12 |
18-19 |
10 |
28 |
6 |
9 |
10 |
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