Kentucky Rallies Past Tennessee on Saturday
Otega Oweh scored 21 points as Kentucky rallied to beat No. 25 Tennessee 74-71 on Saturday night at Rupp Arena. It was the second time this season that UK rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat the Vols
It was the fifth consecutive game in which Oweh has scored at least 20 points.
Kentucky (17-7, 8-3 Southeastern Conference) got 16 points from Denzel Aberdeen and 10 from Malachi Moreno.
Tennessee (16-7, 6-4) scored the first two points, but Oweh scored to tie the game, but the Vols hit a three to lead 5-2. Andrija Jelavic, Moreno and Oweh scored consecutive baskets to give UK an 8-5 advantage. However, Tennessee scored the next seven to lead by four.
A Brandon Garrison putback cut the deficit in half but the Vols scored to lead 14-10. An Oweh layup got UK within two and an Aberdeen layup tied the game. Tennessee responded with eight consecutive points before Oweh scored to get the Cats within six, 22-16. Tennessee responded with another three to lead by nine.
An Oweh basket made it 25-18, but the Vols hit another three to extend their lead to 10. After a UK timeout, Oweh scored underneath and Aberdeen converted in the lane to cut the deficit to 28-22. After a UT three, Aberdeen responded with a three of his own to make it 31-25. The Vols responded by scoring the next five to lead by 11.
Collin Chandler hit a three, then Trent Noah hit two free throws to cut the UT lead to 36-30. The Vols had another response, scoring the next seven points to lead by 13. A Moreno layup got Kentucky within 11. After UT scored again, Moreno hit one-of-two at the line to make it 45-33. Tennessee would lead 47-33 at the half.
Oweh started the second-half scoring with a dunk on a pass from Moreno. After a UT free throw, Moreno hit two from the charity stripe to cut the deficit to 48-37. The Vols would score to lead by 13 before Aberdeen and Jelavic scored for UK to cut the deficit to 50-41. UT answered with four consecutive points to lead by 13.
Chandler hit another three to make it 54-44. After a Tennessee free throw, Aberdeen hit a three to get UK within eight. The Vols hit two free throws before Mo Dioubate scored twice in a row to make it 57-51. Jasper Johnson hit two free throws to get UK within four and an Oweh dunk made it 57-55, forcing a Tennessee timeout with 9:25 to play.
The Vols scored out of the timeout, but Johnson scored on the other end to get the Cats back within two. Tennessee made one-of-two at the line before Oweh scored to get UK within one, 60-59. After a defensive stop, Oweh scored on an acrobatic layup to give Kentucky a 61-60 lead. But the Vols answered with five consecutive points to lead by four.
UK got a free throw from Oweh and a Garrison putback to get within one, 65-64, with 3:40 remaining. UT would hit two free throws before Moreno scored to get the Cats within one again. Aberdeen made two free throws to give Kentucky a 68-67 lead with 1:27 to play. The Vols responded with a basket with 59 seconds left, taking a one-point lead, 69-68.
After a Kentucky timeout, the Cats got a three from Chandler with 33 seconds remaining to lead 71-69. The Cats got a defensive stop, then Moreno made one-of-two at the line to extend the lead to 72-69. The Vols hit two free throws with 8.1 seconds left before Chandler was fouled with 7.3 seconds left. Chandler missed the free throw but Dioubate got the rebound and got the ball to Aberdeen, who was fouled with 3.7 seconds left. Aberdeen made two free throws and UT missed a mid-court shot to end the game.
Kentucky returns to action on Saturday, visiting Florida in Gainesville. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on ABC.
