COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Tyler Ulis put No. 1 Kentucky ahead with a 3-pointer deep in double overtime and the Wildcats stayed unbeaten, holding off Texas A&M 70-64 on Saturday.
The game was tied at 63 when Ulis hit the shot with 1:26 left for his first points of the game.
Kentucky (15-0, 2-0 SEC) was coming off an overtime win against Mississippi on Tuesday.
The Aggies rallied in the final minutes to tie it in regulation. Trey Lyles made two foul shots with six seconds left in the first overtime for Kentucky, and Texas A&M took its time before missing a long 3 at the buzzer.
Down 66-63, Kourtney Roberson made one of two free throws for A&M (9-5, 0-2 SEC) before a turnover by Lyles gave the Aggies the ball back with 26.9 seconds left.
Danuel House missed a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left and Dakari Johnson made two free throws for Kentucky. House finished with 25 points.
Devin Booker led Kentucky with 18 points, Aaron Harrison had 12 and Andrew Harrison had nine. Three players fouled out for Kentucky and one for the Aggies.
Kentucky trailed by as many as 11 in the first half before a big run just before halftime and at the beginning of the second half put the Wildcats on top.
The Aggies didn’t score a basket in the first overtime, but made four of six free throws to stay in it. The Wildcats got a bucket from Booker and missed three free throws before Lyles’ tying foul shots.
House made a pair of free throws to tie it with 18.4 seconds left in regulation. The Wildcats had a chance to win it in regulation, but a long 3-pointer by Aaron Harrison bounced off the rim.
The Aggies used a 5-2 run to cut the lead to 53-51 with 1 1/2 minutes left. They got the ball back and missed three shots on one possession before Kentucky grabbed a rebound and Andrew Harrison’s layup on the other end rolled in and out of the basket before the free throws by House.
Texas A&M scored five straight points, with two layups by House, to get within 48-46 with five minutes left. But Aaron Harrison sunk a 3 to extend Kentucky’s lead to 5.
The Aggies played without leading scorer Jalen Jones (12.1 points a game) who missed his second straight game with a sprained ankle.
Booker scored five straight points for the Wildcats before Alex Robinson made A&M’s first field goal in 6 1/2 minutes on a layup about a minute later to cut the lead to 39-35.
The Wildcats scored the first four points of the second half to cap a 12-0 run that started before halftime and take their first lead of the game 29-28.
Texas A&M jumped out to a 9-0 lead as Kentucky missed its first seven shots thanks in part to two blocks. The Wildcats finally got on the board on a 3-pointer by Booker with 14:40 left in the first half.
TEAM RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
● Texas A&M fell to 9-5 on the year with a 70-64 double overtime loss to No. 1 Kentucky on Saturday at Reed Arena.
● The Aggies are now 7-1 on their home court this season.
● The all-time series between the Aggies and Wildcats now stands at 5-2 in favor of Kentucky with both of the game between the two schools in College Station as SEC competitors going to overtime.
TEAM NOTES
● Today’s game marked just the second time A&M has hosted a No. 1 team and the first since Feb. 15, 2010, when then-No. 1 Kansas came to Reed Arena and earned a 59-54 win … all-time, Texas A&M is 0-7 vs. top-ranked teams.
● One the defensive end, A&M limited the Wildcats to just 28 percent shooting, the lowest by an Aggie opponent in a game this season … Kentucky had not been held to under 30 percent shooting since Dec. 1, 2012, against Baylor.
● A&M held Kentucky scoreless through the first 5:03 of the opening period, taking a 9-0 lead while holding UK to 0-for-5 shooting from the floor.
● The Aggies tied the game with just 18 seconds remaining in regulation on a pair of free throws from junior Danuel House, who went 7-of-11 from the charity stripe in the contest.
● For the third time this season, the Aggies grabbed at least 50 rebounds, finishing with 52 boards and a 18-16 edge on the offensive glass.
●Texas A&M held a 38-14 edge in the paint, holding the Wildcats to their lowest total of interior points as well as the most allowed inside by Kentucky on the season.
● Five Aggies grabbed six or more rebounds, led by nine from juniors Alex Carusoand Danuel House, who each set a new career high with 10 and nine boards, respectively.
● Texas A&M used the starting line-up combination of Alex Caruso, Jordan Green, Danuel House, Antwan Space and Kourtney Roberson for the second time this season (0-2).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
● Junior guard Alex Caruso dished out three assists to move into ninth place on A&M’s career assists list … his 368 career dimes pull him even with Tony Milton(1988-90).
● Additionally, Caruso’s two steals gave him 161 for his three-year career and moved him past Reggie Roberts (160 steals from 1980-83) into fifth place on A&M’s career steals list.
● In addition to high career-high nine boards, Danuel House drained 25 points to top his previous high of 21 against Youngstown State (12/13/14).
● Junior forward Jalen Jones, the Aggies’ leading scorer at 13.3 points per game, missed his second straight game with a sprained ankle.
● A&M head coach Billy Kennedy is now 59-54 in his fourth season at Texas A&M and 270-233 in 17 years as a head coach.
UP NEXT
● The Aggies’ two-game homestand continues as they host Mississippi State on Tuesday night at Reed Arena. Tip off is set for 8 p.m. as the contest will be televised on SEC Network.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics