Jaden Shackelford scored 21 points to help No. 9 Alabama finish off a regular-season sweep of Kentucky with a 70-59 victory on Tuesday in Southeastern Conference play at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Herbert Jones recorded 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Crimson Tide (14-3, 9-0 SEC) stretched their winning streak to 10 games. It is the program's first double-digit winning streak since the 1996-97 squad won its first 10 games.
John Petty Jr. and Joshua Primo added 10 points apiece for Alabama, which had lost 12 of the previous 13 meetings between the schools prior to this season's sweep. The Crimson Tide trounced Kentucky 85-65 on Jan. 12 in Lexington, Ky.
Dontaie Allen scored 12 points on four 3-pointers for the Wildcats (5-10, 4-4), who have lost four of their past five games. Davion Mintz and Olivier Sarr also scored 12 points apiece for Kentucky, which made 35.2 percent of its shots and was 6 of 14 from behind the arc.
Alabama shot 39.2 percent from the field, including 6 of 20 from 3-point range.
Juwan Gary's fastbreak layup as part of a 10-0 spurt gave the Crimson Tide a 56-54 lead with 3:09 left, putting Alabama ahead to stay. Shackelford scored the next four points and Jones added two free throws to cap the burst as Alabama led 62-54 with 46.9 seconds to play.
Allen connected on a 3-pointer with 39.1 seconds left before the Crimson Tide finished the game with an 8-2 run.
Kentucky took its first lead of the game at 43-41 on Sarr's jumper with 12:48 remaining.
The Wildcats then went 3:15 without a point and Alabama scored six straight to establish a four-point lead.
Kentucky responded with an 8-2 push with Keion Brooks Jr. scoring on a put-back to account for a 51-49 lead with 7:25 remaining.
Mintz drained a 3-pointer to give the Wildcats a 54-52 lead with 4:27 remaining before the squad went nearly four minutes without scoring.
The Crimson Tide led 35-32 at halftime thanks to Jahvon Quinerly's 3-pointer as time expired.
Alabama was red-hot at the outset by making its first five shots -- including three 3-pointers -- to take a 13-5 lead.
The Wildcats finally caught the Crimson Tide at 30 on a 3-pointer by Mintz with 1:38 left.
--Field Level Media
Kentucky | Alabama | |
Dontaie Allen 12 | Scoring | Jaden Shackelford 21 |
Davion Mintz 4 | Assists | Herbert Jones 8 |
Brandon Boston Jr. 6 | Rebounds | Herbert Jones 9 |
Brandon Boston Jr. 4 | Free Throws Made | Jaden Shackelford 10 |
Dontaie Allen 2 | Steals | Herbert Jones 2 |
Isaiah Jackson 2 | Blocks | Herbert Jones 2 |