LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Randolph Morris and Bobby Perry had double-doubles as Kentucky defeated Indiana 59-54 on Saturday in the 50th meeting of the border rivals and first played in Rupp Arena since 1988.
Typically, Louisville’s Freedom Hall hosts Kentucky’s home games in the series, but a scheduling conflict prevented that this season. That 1988 game was also the last in which neither the Hoosiers nor Wildcats came in ranked in the Top 25, as both traditional powerhouses have struggled out of the gate.
In the end, home cooking proved to be just what Kentucky (6-3) needed.
Morris had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Perry had 11 points to go with his season-high 10 rebounds.
Indiana’s D.J. White led all scorers with 23 points.
With the Wildcats ahead 47-41, Roderick Wilmont nailed consecutive 3-pointers to tie the game. Before that, the teams were a combined 3-for-29 from beyond the arc.
Morris quickly answered with his signature turnaround jumper at the 6-minute mark and converted the three-point play after drawing a foul from White.
White’s layup two minutes later pulled the Hoosiers (5-3) within two points, but jumpers by Joe Crawford and Perry put Kentucky up 57-52.
With less than two minutes to go, Joey Shaw of the Hoosiers stole an inbounds pass and scored to make it a one-possesion game. But Indiana’s Lance Stemler missed a closely guarded 3-pointer, and Jodie Meeks made two free throws with six seconds left to clinch the win.
Kentucky held Indiana to 30 percent shooting, but out of the gate, it looked like it was the Wildcats who were cold. Point guard Ramel Bradley, who had a career-high eight 3-pointers Tuesday against Chattanooga, was 0-for-4 from beyond the arc Saturday – including two air balls.
Indiana’s tough defense and Kentucky’s poor shooting allowed the Hoosiers to build a seven-point lead midway through the first half, silencing the crowd.
But Kentucky quickly found a high-percentage shot: the dunk. A thundering one by Morris woke up the building.
Amid the noise the Hoosiers, who had only committed one turnover to that point, committed four in the next two minutes, allowing the Wildcats to go ahead in one of 14 lead changes in the game.
Derrick Jasper followed Morris’ theatrics with a steal and dunk on Kentucky’s next trip down court, and fellow freshman Perry Stevenson added another dunk a few possessions later.
White had a dunk at the halftime buzzer to pull Indiana within 28-26.
Some of the Wildcats point to last year’s 26-point loss to Indiana at the RCA Dome as the one that began a downward spiral toward a third-place finish in the Southeastern Conference’s Eastern Division.
Both teams have had disappointing starts, so the border battle – although lacking some of the luster of the glory days – was viewed as critical again this year.
Indiana was upset by Butler, escaped with a narrow win over Indiana State, but then came within three points of pulling off a shocker at Duke.
The Wildcats defeated DePaul in the Maui Invitational before losing narrowly to UCLA and then was blown out by Memphis. They also set the tempo and played solid defense against North Carolina but came up 12 points short.
