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Elston Turner scores 40, A&M beats Kentucky at Rupp

Elston Turner, Willie Cauley-Stein

Texas A&M’s Elston Turner shoots under pressure from Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

AP

Remember when that guy in Titanic shouted “Iceberg, straight ahead!”?

That guy should be courtside at Rupp Arena these days.

Not only did Kentucky lose in their raucous homeplace again, proving that a December drop to Baylor was no fluke, but they allowed a monster scoring night from a player whose NBA draft stock may be far lower than that of any Wildcat starter.

Elston Turner, a senior guard, had never even cracked 30 points in a single game during his Texas A&M career. So imagine his surprise when shot after shot went in in his first visit to Rupp Arena. By the time the final buzzer went off, Turner had tallied 40 points. Not only that, but his team had beat the defending national champs by a convincing 83-71 margin. Elston hit 14-19 shots, including 6-10 from downtown, in the big win. He was two points short of the season high of 42 points, set by Tyler Haws of BYU.

Turner didn’t have to go it alone, exactly, Fabyon Harris chipped in 14, and forward Kourtney Roberson had ten points and nine rebounds, but it was mostly Turner.

Kentucky’s defensive shortcomings continue to be exposed in the most baffling way. If the Aggies had had a balanced scoring attack, perhaps we could understand, but one guy? No amount of defensive trickery or individual athleticism could stop... Elston Turner? That’s tough to swallow. Ryan Harrow and Archie Goodwin combined for nine backcourt turnovers in the loss.

Nerlens Noel was the lone bright spot for Kentucky. He flirted with a triple-double, tallying 15 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 7 blocked shots. Clearly, the Wildcats can’t rely on just one guy. The great mystery is how the allowed A&M to do so.