AUBURN | Time and again, Auburn needed a big bucket. And time and again, Samir Doughty provided.

The senior led the 17th-ranked Tigers to a key 75-66 win over No. 13 Kentucky Saturday night at Auburn Arena with a team-high 23 points.

Auburn improves to 19-2 overall and 6-2 in the SEC.

“We had great balance. We had great senior leadership. Samir Doughty played like it, and made big plays for us all night long,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said.

Doughty added five rebounds, one steal and had just one turnover in 30 minutes of action. He made just 4 of 10 from the floor but was 14 of 15 from the free throw line, constantly driving into the lane and drawing contact, often against two or three defenders.

Doughy has scored in double-figures in a team-high 16 games.

“I don't know what was going on with their players; they just struggled to stay in front at times. I was able to get to the rim, and they was fouling me and I was making free throws,” Doughty said.

A couple of other seniors also came up big for the Tigers, along with one talented freshman.

Danjel Purifoy made three 3-pointers including one at the end of the first half, one at the start of the second half and one to put AU up for good 62-60 with 3:59 left. The senior finished with 11 points.

Senior Austin Wiley had his eighth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He out-dueled acclaimed Kentucky big man Nick Richards, who fouled out in the second half with seven points and seven rebounds.

“Danjel Purifoy makes three 3s. Isaac (Okoro) makes two 3s and gets to the foul line 12 times. Austin has 10 rebounds. J’Von (McCormick) as a point guard has four assists and one turnover. Anfernee (McLemore) did a lot of positive things. A really good team effort,” Pearl said.

Okoro, a freshman, scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half including a step-back 3-pointer that gave the Tigers a 6-point lead with 2:33 left.

"Down the stretch, we seen that Isaac had a mismatch, so we just wanted to keep giving him the ball,” Doughty said. “We know, at the end of the day, he was going to make the right play, whether that's finishing or getting his teammates involved.”

Okoro and Doughty teamed up to hold All-SEC point guard Ashton Hagans to five points and six turnovers before he fouled out in the second half.

Auburn returns to action Tuesday at Arkansas. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network.