No. 16 Kentucky 71, Vanderbilt 62: Willie Cauley-Stein scored 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting as the Wildcats knocked off the Commodores in SEC play.
Aaron Harrison scored 14 points and Julius Randle grabbed 11 rebounds for Kentucky (12-3, 2-0), which won its fourth straight game. Andrew Harrison added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Wildcats.
Damian Jones scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds while Kyle Fuller had 17 points and a career-best 10 assists for Vanderbilt (8-6, 0-2). Dai-Jon Parker also scored 17 points for the Commodores, who lost their third straight game.
The Wildcats had a 53-39 advantage after Alex Poythress’ basket with just under 9 1/2 minutes remaining but Vanderbilt crept within 65-58 with 2:01 to go after 3-pointers by Odom and Fuller. Cauley-Stein followed with a dunk and a basket by Poythress with less than a minute left made it a 10-point margin as Kentucky finished off its first road win of the campaign.
Jarrod Polson hit two 3-pointers in a 7-0 run late in the first half that boosted Kentucky’s lead to 10 before the Wildcats settled for a 30-22 lead at the break. The Commodores moved within 36-31 less than four minutes into the second half when Fuller drove the length of the court through the defense for a layup.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Wildcats collected 18 offensive rebounds while posting a 41-28 edge on the boards. … Vanderbilt is down to seven scholarship players and nine overall after leading scorer Eric McClellan was handed a season-ending suspension for an academic violation earlier this week. … Kentucky was just 13-of-22 from the free-throw line but forced 16 turnovers.
Kentucky | Vanderbilt | |
Willie Cauley-Stein 15 | Scoring | Damian Jones 18 |
Andrew Harrison 4 | Assists | Kyle Fuller 10 |
Julius Randle 11 | Rebounds | Damian Jones 11 |
Aaron Harrison 5 | Free Throws Made | Kyle Fuller 4 |
Willie Cauley-Stein 2 | Steals | Dai-Jon Parker 2 |
Willie Cauley-Stein 1 | Blocks | James Siakam 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Kentucky | 71 | 42.6 | 6-22 | 13-22 | 11 | 39 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
Vanderbilt | 62 | 50.0 | 6-20 | 6-10 | 18 | 27 | 4 | 3 | 16 |