LEXINGTON, Ky. - Kentucky Coach John Calipari was so focused on coaching his team that he barely noticed star forward Julius Randle was on the bench being treated for cramps.

Fortunately for the Wildcats, guards Andrew and Aaron Harrison knew he wasn’t there and their work in offsetting his absence proved crucial in overcoming No. 6 Louisville. The identical twin freshmen combined for 28 points, including 11 during a critical second-half stretch with Randle sidelined, helping the 18th-ranked Wildcats earn a 73-66 victory on Saturday.

“It always hurts you when you lose a great player,” said Andrew Harrison, who went 6 of 16 from the field. “But at the same time, we all knew we had to bring it and that just means we all had to step it up a little bit.”

Randle’s 17 first-half points staked Kentucky (10-3) to a 41-36 halftime lead before the 6-9 forward went to the locker room early in the second with leg cramps. He returned but soon limped to the bench with more cramps and spent the rest of the game on the bench.

The Harrison twins amply filled the void, turning a 52-51 deficit with 11:01 remaining into a 68-58 lead with four minutes left. Andrew Harrison and James Young each scored 18 points with Young adding a key three-pointer during the 17-6 run that helped Kentucky beat its instate arch rival for the fifth time in six meetings.

“Andrew played incredible today down the stretch,” forward Alex Poythress said.

The young, talented Wildcats also earned their first win against a ranked opponent in four tries this season. This victory was particularly impressive coming against the defending national champions, who entered with significantly more experience than Kentucky’s squad featuring six high school All-Americans.

Russ Smith scored 19 points but was just 5 of 10 from the foul line for Louisville (11-2), which failed to capitalize after rallying from the halftime hole. Chris Jones added 18 points for the Cardinals, who made just 14 of 22 free throws and missed their second chance to beat a top-25 school.

After losing tough early-season games to Michigan State, Baylor and North Carolina, Kentucky finally found the formula to beat a ranked team. Other than allowing Louisville to open both halves with runs, the Wildcats handled everything the Cardinals tried, especially in the clutch, and kept control down the stretch.

The Wildcats out rebounded Louisville 44-36 including 17-12 offensively. Their significant size advantage kept the Cardinals from driving inside as they consistently contested shots and passes, and they controlled the paint in outscoring Louisville 42-24 and held the Cards to 40 percent shooting.

Young and Willie Cauley-Stein each grabbed 10 rebounds for Kentucky.

“We had a shot in the second half, and missed free throws and a big defensive mistake in giving up the three-pointer,” Louisville Coach Rick Pitino said. “I give them credit, they did a good job against our pressure.”

Most importantly, Kentucky earned Bluegrass State bragging rights after a week in which Pitino and Calipari tried to stress the big-picture perspective. Besides cautioning players about putting too much weight in this game, both coaches also told them to block out the noise leading up to this well-hyped showdown.

Tuning out the noise before 24,396 in Rupp Arena was another story. The standing-room only student section was filled an hour before tip off and the din only grew louder - just after Louisville took the sea of Kentucky blue out of the game by scoring the first eight points.

Randle answered with five for the Wildcats, including a driving dunk for his first basket that quickly got the crowd excited. That play set the stage for a half in which he muscled his way past a variety of Louisville defenders on 7-of-8 shooting.

Cramps limited Randle to four second-half minutes and 21 overall.

Andrew Harrison added seven points, helping to provide a 41-36 halftime lead as the Wildcats used their size to keep the Cardinals on the perimeter. Louisville started the second half quickly and tied it at 43 after two minutes as Smith scored five points while Mangok Mathiang added a put back. Louisville eventually grabbed its first lead since 9:09 of the first half, 52-51, on Jones’ three-point play.

LSU 79, MCNEESE STATE 52

BATON ROUGE - Jarell Martin scored 14 points and grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds to lead LSU over McNeese State.

Martin made two three-pointers and made all four of his free throws. Johnny O’Bryant and Shavon Coleman were the top scorers for the Tigers (9-2) with 16points each. Jordan Mickey added 11.

LSU trailed 17-16 before outscoring McNeese 26-8 over the final seven minutes of the half to take a 42-25 halftime lead. A three-pointer by Anthony Hickey gave LSU the lead for good at 19-17.

Ledrick Eackles scored 15 points to lead McNeese State (2-10). The Cowboys have lost seven in a row.

NO. 21 COLORADO 84, GEORGIA 70

BOULDER, Colo. - Askia Booker scored 12 of his 19 points in the second half, and Colorado finished strong to beat Georgia.

Spencer Dinwiddie added 17 points for Colorado and Josh Scott had 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Colorado, which opens Pac-12 play Thursday against Oregon State, made all 26 of its free throws, led by Scott, who was 8 of 8. All five Colorado starters scored 10 or more points, helping the Buffaloes (11-2) remain unbeaten at home and match their best start since 1979-1980, when they also began the season 11-2.

Nemanja Djurisic and Kenny Gaines had 12 points apiece for Georgia (6-5), which had a five-game winning streak end. Brandon Morris and Charles Mann each scored 11 points for the Bulldogs, who started the season 1-4.

SOUTH CAROLINA 78, AKRON 42

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Brenton Williams scored a season-high 24 points to lead South Carolina to a rout of Akron in their second-consecutive game since Christmas Day, when they beat them 69-59at the 2013 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.

The senior guard connected on 6 of 8 three-point attempts for his third-consecutive game with 10 or more points.

The Gamecocks (5-6) blew open a close game with a 17-1 run to open the second half. The Zips (6-5) missed their first six shots of the half and suffered seven turnovers in the first 8 minutes to allow South Carolina to race to a 47-25 lead. Akron went 9:55 without a field goal until Pat Forsythe broke the streak with a jumper with 11:51 remaining.

Michael Carrera scored 13 and grabbed seven rebounds for South Carolina and Mindaugas Kacinas finished with 11 points.

Quincy Diggs led Akron with 13 points.

UCLA 75, ALABAMA 67

LOS ANGELES - Tony Parker scored 16 points, including two tie-breaking free throws with 56.8 seconds remaining, leading UCLA to a victory over Alabama.

The Crimson Tide (5-7) were led by Trevor Releford, who scored a season-high 34 points. He scored five consecutive points down the stretch, tying the score at 67-67 with 1:24 remaining in the game.

Parker’s free throws gave the Bruins a 69-67 lead. They scored their remaining points at the free-throw line.

UCLA (11-2) trailed at halftime for the first time this season, then scored the first six points of the second half to take a 39-34 lead. Alabama responded with nine consecutive points by Releford to make a game of it.

Sports, Pages 28 on 12/29/2013