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No. 2 Kentucky pulls away late to down Auburn

Jan 12, 2012 - 5:54 AM Auburn, AL (Sports Network) - Anthony Davis and Doron Lamb both scored 14 points, as second-ranked Kentucky pulled away late to beat Auburn, 68-53.

Davis added six rebounds, four blocks and three steals for the Wildcats (16-1, 2-0 SEC), who notched a season best-tying eighth consecutive victory and extended their winning streak versus the Tigers to 13.

Marquis Teague and Terrence Jones posted 12 points apiece for a Kentucky team that shot just 40 percent from the floor.

Rob Chubb recorded 14 points and eight rebounds for Auburn (10-6, 0-2), which had a 10-game home winning streak snapped.

"The guys fought their tails off tonight," said Auburn head coach Tony Barbee. "We have to take this and expound on it and go to the next level."

Neither team led by more than seven points in a back-and-forth opening 20 that ended with Kentucky holding a slim 32-28 advantage.

It remained a tight contest throughout the second half, with a Varez Ward layup drawing Auburn within two with 5:38 to play. Lamb and teammate Darius Miller nailed consecutive three-pointers, and an alley-oop dunk by Davis put Kentucky up 62-51 with 90 seconds to play.

"We went on the run at the end, but you all know this was a couple bucket game and they could have easily beat us," Kentucky head coach John Calipari said.

The Tigers gave the Wildcats all they could handle but wound up losing their third straight game despite a 35-29 rebounding advantage.

Game Notes

Kentucky improved to 53-25 in SEC road openers...The Tigers have lost 12 straight games against top-10 ranked teams...Chris Denson scored 12 points for Auburn...Kentucky netted 24 points off 15 Auburn turnovers.