AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Joe Crawford had 23 points and nine rebounds and Kentucky coasted to its third consecutive victory Tuesday night, beating Auburn 71-62.
The Wildcats (13-6, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) led by as many as 18 points late in the second half, holding the Tigers off with stingy defense and foul shooting.
Kentucky has won 21 of the last 22 meetings and continues to roll after ending a three-game losing streak and starting 0-2 in the league.
The Tigers (8-8, 0-5) managed their highest scoring total in an SEC game but remained winless in the league.
Crawford made 9-of-11 free throws and 4-of-6 3-pointers. Rondo finished with 12 points and eight boards as Kentucky’s backcourt dominated the boards. Forward Randolph Morris had eight points and no rebounds in 14 minutes, picking up his fourth foul with 9:07 left.
Quantez Robertson led four double-figure scorers for Auburn with 14 points and five assists. Ronny LeMelle added 13 points, Rasheem Barrett 12 and Frank Tolbert 11 for the Tigers.
The Wildcats overcame their poor shooting — including 1-of-11 in 3-pointers in the second half — with repeated trips to the line. They made 17-of-24 free throws after halftime as Auburn resorted to fouling to try to slow down Crawford & Co.
Kentucky shot just 30 percent from the floor in the second half after hitting 56 percent overall in each of its past two games.
Rondo scored eight points in a 10-0 run — all on drives to the basket — after the Tigers hit three consecutive 3-pointers to cut it to 51-45.
Then Auburn managed just one more field goal over a stretch of nearly seven minutes.
The Wildcats were coming off an 80-78 win over South Carolina on Rondo’s 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left. With Crawford’s hot shooting and a stingy defense, the Wildcats didn’t need any dramatic shots against the Tigers.
Kentucky pushed its lead to 66-48 with 5:27 left on the final basket of Rondo’s spurt. Auburn missed seven consecutive shots during that stretch but made a late rally to keep the score respectable.
The Wildcats did much of their damage with 3-pointers early, hitting six to build a 39-28 halftime lead. Auburn was scoreless over the final three minutes.
The Tigers made just 6-of-13 free throws and committed 12 turnovers in the half.
