National Basketball Association
Kentucky 90, Alabama 81
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 19, 2022
Where: Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center, Lexington, Kentucky
Officials:
# Keith Kimble, # Pat Adams, # Olandis Poole
Attendance:
20374
By Field Level Media
Fourth-ranked Kentucky turned around an early 13-point deficit to beat No. 25 Alabama 90-81 in a key Southeastern Conference matchup in Lexington on Saturday.
Kentucky (22-5, 11-3 SEC) was playing without two of its top three scoring guards due to injuries to TyTy Washington Jr. (leg) and Sahvir Wheeler (wrist), but Kellan Grady stepped up with a season-high 25 points and went 7 of 9 on 3-pointers.
Three other Wildcats made it into double figures along with Grady. Keion Brooks Jr. scored 18 points, Jacob Toppin scored 13 and Oscar Tshiebwe extended his lead as the top rebounder in the country with 14 rebounds to go with 21 points for a double-double.
Alabama (17-10, 7-7) received an outstanding shooting effort from Keon Ellis to help stay close in the second half. Ellis went 10 of 16 from the floor and hit seven 3-pointers, scoring a career-best 28 points to lead all players. Jaden Shackelford added 18 points for the Crimson Tide.
The visitors came flying out of the gates early, building a double-digit lead thanks to nine made 3-pointers inside the first 11 minutes of play, But Kentucky slowly crept back into the game as Alabama's shooting leveled off. The Wildcats closed the first half on a 19-5 run to turn the 13-point deficit into a 47-46 lead at the break, and the trend continued after halftime.
Kentucky went on a 13-0 run early in the second half that transformed a 61-58 lead into a 74-58 advantage that proved to be the knockout punch to Alabama's hopes. The Crimson Tide did close the margin back down to seven points with under five minutes remaining, but Kentucky's offense was too much to handle down the stretch.
The win keeps Kentucky undefeated at home at a 16-0 mark, and it will go for another home win in its next game at home against LSU on Wednesday. Alabama will take the court again on Tuesday in a road game at Vanderbilt.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Alabama |
|
Kentucky |
|
Keon Ellis 28 |
Scoring |
Kellan Grady 25 |
|
JD Davison 5 |
Assists |
Kellan Grady 3 |
|
JD Davison 7 |
Rebounds |
Oscar Tshiebwe 14 |
|
Jaden Shackelford 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Daimion Collins 4 |
|
Keon Ellis 4 |
Steals |
Davion Mintz 3 |
|
Charles Bediako 2 |
Blocks |
Keion Brooks Jr. 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Alabama
|
81 |
43.5 |
14-40 |
7-9 |
15 |
30 |
5 |
6 |
9 |
| Kentucky
|
90 |
53.2 |
9-14 |
15-19 |
13 |
36 |
3 |
7 |
7 |
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