‘Lucky’ Kentucky guts out a win at Auburn after losing 17-point lead

Kentucky had not won a road game against a ranked Southeastern Conference opponent since March 1, 2006 (an 80-78 victory at No. 11 Tennessee).

It took a team effort to make a bit of history Saturday as No. 12 Kentucky outlasted No. 14 Auburn 82-80.

John Calipari suggested that his latest freshman-dependent UK team might be oblivious to this bit of history. That was a good thing, the UK coach said.

“Sometimes they don’t know what they don’t know,” he said. “Like, they do not know they’re not supposed to come in here and win. They don’t know they’re not supposed to come in here and be up 17.

“They’re just playing, like, yeah.”

That comes with a downside, Calipari said.

“The problem is when the game gets going, they’ll revert and think it’s a high school game,” he said.

Despite playing in a claustrophobic Auburn Arena, UK defeated a veteran Auburn team getting encouragement from a boisterous sellout crowd.

“They were down 17 and never stopped,” Calipari said of the Tigers. “Guess what? Neither did we.”

If Kentucky needed to find a go-to guy, several candidates emerged.

Roommates Keldon Johnson and Tyler Herro gave Kentucky production on both ends of the floor. Each scored 20 points and combined to make five of 11 three-point shots.

Calipari noted how Johnson went scoreless at Georgia on Tuesday. “Think about pressing,” the UK coach said. “How about that for (not) pressing?”

Reid Travis combined with Washington for 30 points and 14 rebounds and UK advantages in rebounding (33-26) and points from the paint (38-24).

“The way they could beat us is the way they beat,” Auburn Coach Bruce Pearl said. Enhancing UK’s size advantage was Auburn having to play without veteran big man Austin Wiley, who sat out the game because of a lower leg injury.

Auburn had its own heroes in a game bursting with heroes and fans. Bryce Brown’s 25-point second half helped the Tigers rise from the seemingly down and out.

Kentucky, which led 48-31 three minutes into the second half, found itself behind 80-79 with 31 seconds left. Auburn point guard Jared Harper put UK behind for the first time since the 4:10 mark of the first half.

Herro, who leads the SEC in free-throw accuracy, made two foul shots with 24.1 seconds left to put Kentucky ahead 81-80.

“I was, like, these are good,” Herro said. He credited “muscle memory” for making five of five free throws, which made him 17-for-17 in SEC play. “I knew I was going to make them.”

Harper came oh-so-close to putting Auburn ahead. But his floater from about 10 feet rattled out.

“I knew when I was able to get by them that I had the angle,” he said. “I feel like when I shot it, I put it in the right place on the backboard. And it just didn’t go in.”

Calipari acknowledged how fate smiled on Kentucky.

“We’re lucky to get out of here alive,” he said. “We’re lucky he missed that little shot.”

Auburn had to foul. Immanuel Quickley made one of two free throws with 3.3 seconds left to set the final score.

Auburn’s last-second throw from near mid-court bounced off the backboard.

Kentucky improved to 14-3 overall and 4-1 in the SEC. Auburn, which lost at home for the first time in 10 games, fell to 13-4 overall and 2-2 in the SEC.

Kentucky scored the last nine points of the first half to take a 35-27 halftime lead. That was the largest lead either team had in the opening 20 minutes.

Johnson and Herro figured large in the mini breakout. Johnson tipped in Herro’s missed layup to start the run.

After Auburn turned it over on a penetration-and-pitch attempt, Herro drove into traffic and whipped a pass to Johnson in the right corner. Johnson’s three-pointer gave UK a 32-27 lead.

Then another penetration-and-pitch attempt resulted in another Auburn turnover. This time, Herro made a three-pointer with 21 seconds left to set the halftime score.

As the second half unfolded, Kentucky had the luxury of multiple go-to guys. Johnson and Herro on the perimeter. Washington and Travis around the basket.

Calipari suggested there was a plan for Johnson re-emerging and joining Herro as a scoring tandem.

“Two nights ago, I woke up, and I said, ‘For us to win, Keldon and Tyler have to score buckets,’” the UK coach said. “We came up with some stuff to run for Keldon.

“If we really need a basket late, what are we doing? Who we going to? What are we running?”

Johnson? Herro? Washington? Travis?

“It just all depends on who we need,” Johnson said, “and what’s going on.”

Next game

No. 24 Mississippi State at No. 12 Kentucky

7 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN)

This story was originally published January 19, 2019 at 8:22 PM.