No. 12 Kentucky Falls to Arkansas on Saturday
Amari Williams scored a season-high 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, but No. 12 Kentucky lost to Arkansas 89-79 on Saturday night at Rupp Arena.
Jaxson Robinson had 20 points for the Cats, while Ansley Almonor had 12. Otega Oweh added 10 points for UK.
Kentucky (15-6, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) made 10 of 23 from beyond the arc, while Arkansas made 13 of 25 from distance. The Hogs made 12 of 16 at the line, while the Cats made 9 of 18. UK won the rebounding battle 33-30, and the Cats had 14 second-chance points, compared to just three for the Razorbacks.
Arkansas (13-8, 2-6) scored the first three points of the game on a Johnell Davis triple. Kentucky answered with a Jaxson Robinson three to tie the game. After Arkansas took a 6-3 lead, UK got an Otega Oweh layup and a Koby Brea three to lead 8-6. The Hogs took the lead back at 9-8 before the Cats got layups from Amari Williams and Oweh, and an Ansley Almonor three to lead 15-9. Kentucky made its first six shots from the floor.
UK would lead 18-12 before Arkansas scored four in a row, getting within two at 18-16. A pair of Robinson free throws gave the Cats a 20-16 advantage but the Hogs scored the next four, tying the game at 20-20.
A Koby Brea dunk gave Kentucky a 22-20 advantage. After an Arkansas free throw, Travis Perry hit a three from the left wing and the Cats led 25-21. The Hogs would hit a pair of free throws before Williams scored in the lane, giving UK a 27-23 lead. After Arkansas hit two more free throws, Robinson hit a three and UK led 30-25.
Arkansas would respond with nine consecutive points to lead 34-30 before an Oweh layup got the Cats within two, 34-32. The Hogs would hit a three before Williams made a layup and free throw to cut the deficit to 37-35. The next time down the floor, Williams scored underneath again to tie the game at 37 apiece.
After the Hogs took a 40-37 lead, UK got a dunk from Williams, a Colin Chandler layup and an Andrew Carr three to lead 44-40. However, Arkansas would end the half on a 6-2 run and would take a 46-45 lead into the half.
Arkansas opened the second half on a 12-2 run to lead 58-47. A four-point play from Almonor cut the deficit to 58-51. After the Hogs scored, Robinson completed a three-point play to get UK within six, 60-54. However, the Razorbacks responded with a 7-2 run and took a 67-56 lead.
The Cats would fight back and would eventually get within six, 76-70 but would get no closer.
Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday, visiting Ole Miss in Oxford. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on ESPN.
