The Cats staked claim to a record 49^th outright SEC regular season championship on Saturday by virtue of their 73-66 victory over the No. 15 Tigers. But the game’s tide was headed in an entirely different direction early on.

Seven minutes in, things felt dire. Rupp Arena was a ghost of what it was at the jump. Auburn landed the first punch by racing out to an 18-9 advantage – making its first four three-pointers – and finished a two-piece combo by forcing Nick Richards to the bench with his second foul. Sure, there was a lot of time left to play, but someone needed to swoop in. Who would save the day?

Enter Kentucky’s two-piece, the heroes everyone expected: Keion Brooks Jr. and Nate Sestina. The backup forwards played 19 minutes in the first half, combining for 13 points and four rebounds as the Cats not only clawed back, but pounced ahead to lead Auburn by three at halftime.

“The kind of team we are, guys are able to step up,” Sestina said. “Coach needed that from me, [EJ Montgomery]… Keion…we can’t just rely on Tyrese, Ashton and Immanuel to score all our points and get stops… it was big for us today.”

The grad transfer recorded 11 points after barely scratching the stat sheet (one rebound, one block) in the first game between the Cats and Tigers. He was motivated to make up for that performance, and it showed. His plus/minus jumped 18 points from the road matchup.

 “I just wanted to do something for us. I didn’t do a whole lot down at Auburn,” Sestina said. “Whether I was gonna put the ball in the hoop, or try to defend, or try to stay out of foul trouble.”

Brooks Jr. ended the day with four points, three rebounds and a steal, ripping the ball away for rebounds on multiple occasions. Cal said an interaction with teammates in the huddle led to his increased fight.

“Keion had a quick foul, didn’t come up with the ball, and the guys got on him,” he said. “Then he… started getting balls, started rebounding.”

Kentucky tied Auburn on the glass 38-38 today after being outrebounded 42-28 the first time the teams met. Both teams continued hacking one another, with a combined 94 fouls in the two games. The Tigers shot 20 more free throws in their gym; the Cats shot 11 more today at Rupp.

“We weren’t able to defend without fouling,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “They make 27 free throws; we make 22 field goals… we fouled them too much and that was a big deal.”

This SEC regular season title is the first for every Wildcat on the roster, regular rotation or walk-on. As good as it is to be on top for the time being, Tyrese Maxey says the team has more to accomplish.

“It feels great! The hard work… has finally paid off,” he said. “And we are not finished. Not done yet.”

Kentucky’s Senior Night is Tuesday against Tennessee. Usually that’s somewhat glossed over, but it won’t be this year. Even if it’s only his first year in Lexington, it will be the final home game of Nate Sestina’s career.

“The fact that it’s already March… and I got one more game at Rupp is wild to me,” he said. “When I first came here on my visit, I was like ‘man, I can’t wait to play here’. Now I’ve got one more time doing it. It’s crazy how fast it all goes.”

Tip for Tuesday’s game versus the Vols is set for 9:00 p.m. ET. The game can be seen on ESPN and the ESPN app.