'Bama rains 3s, pulls away from Kentucky 89-74

Aden Holloway tied a career-high with 26 points, Labaron Philon Jr. added 17 points and No. 14 Alabama beat Kentucky 89-74 on Saturday in the SEC opener for both teams.

Kentucky fought back from a 21-point deficit, cutting the lead to single digits, 77-68, with 5:38 to play. But the Wildcats were outscored 12-6 down the stretch, with all but two of the Crimson Tide’s points being scored by Holloway and Philon.

Holloway, who had five assists, hit 7 of 11 shots, including six of the 15 3-pointers made by Alabama (11-3, 1-0 Southeastern Conference). The Tide entered the game ranked No. 3 in the country in 3-pointers per game at 13.1.

Houston Mallette scored 14 and Amari Allen had 11 points and nine rebounds as the Crimson Tide won its fourth straight game over the Wildcats.

Kentucky (9-5, 0-1) jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, but didn’t lead again as Alabama responded with a 9-0 run. The first half was one of the worst offensive halves of Kentucky’s season-- scoring just 34 points while shooting 38% from the field and 22% from the 3-point arc.

Otega Oweh had 22 points and Jaland Lowe scored 21 for the Wildcats.

Alabama has won 76 conference games since Nate Oats was hired in 2019. That’s the most in the SEC during that span.

Kentucky hosts Missouri on Wednesday.


(AP Photo Vasha Hunt)