Edwards drops 28 as No. 17 Kentucky crushes No. 13 Alabama

LEXINGTON, Ky (AP) — Justin Edwards scored a season-high 28 points and Antonio Reeves added 24, leading No. 17 Kentucky to a 117-95 win over No. 13 Alabama on Saturday.

Edwards, a freshman, had his previous high scoring game against Vanderbilt on Feb. 6, when he finished with 17 points. Against Alabama, he was 10 for 10 from the field and 4 for 4 from 3-point distance. His only miss came at the free throw line, where he finished 4 for 5.

Zvonimir Ivisic came off the bench to score 18 points for the Wildcats (19-8, 9-5 SEC). Kentucky shot 63% from the field, 54% from 3-point distance and finished a point short of its highest scoring game of the season, a 118-82 win over Marshall on Nov. 25.

Rylan Griffen scored 21 points and Mark Sears added 20 for Alabama (19-8, 11-3), which shot 56% from the field and turned the ball over 16 times, leading to 29 points by Kentucky.

The conference showdown between the pair of highly ranked teams and the two top scoring offenses in the nation got off to a quick start. Alabama held a 29-28 lead with 9:39 left in the first half before Kentucky went on a 20-2 run over the next six minutes, seizing control of the game and carrying a 58-42 lead into halftime.

BIG PICTURE

Alabama: The team's tenuous hold on first-place in the SEC became a little looser with the loss, depending on the outcome of Tennessee’s game at home against Texas A&M. Bama had a one-game lead on the Vols.

Kentucky: The Wildcats sorely needed a dominating home win after dropping three of their last four games in Rupp Arena. Kentucky kept alive a path to a double-bye in the conference tournament.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Alabama: The Tide should not be hurt too much by another road loss, although they did need overtime to beat Florida 98-93 on Wednesday.

Kentucky: The Wildcats should stay about where they are in the polls, despite blowing a 15-point lead on the road to LSU on Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Alabama: At Mississippi on Wednesday.

Kentucky: At Mississippi State on Tuesday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball