Kentucky used a 22-6 run over a seven-and-a-half minute period in the second half to rally for a 78-76 victory over Arkansas on Sunday at Rupp Arena.
Trailing 55-48 with 9:15 remaining, the Wildcats scored on 10 of their next 12 possessions to take control of the game, 70-61 with less than two minutes left. Kentucky missed four shots during the stretch, but grabbed their own offensive rebound each time.
While the offense was clicking, the defense was dominant down the stretch. After Ronnie Brewer?s jumper with 8:20 remaining, the Razorbacks went without a field goal and pulled down just one rebound over the next six-and-a-half minutes.
By then, UK had a commanding lead and it held off a late surge to secure the victory. The win was the fourth in a row for Kentucky (14-6, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) overall and their sixth straight over the Hogs. Arkansas (14-6, 3-4) failed in their bid to win three straight.
The game started woefully for UK, which made just four of its first 17 field goal attempts and coughed up six turnovers in the first 14 minutes. Meanwhile, Arkansas started on fire, hitting 11-of-21 to start the game in building a 28-10 lead with six minutes to go in the first half.
Down 18, the Wildcat offense awoke to score 13 points the rest of the half to cut the deficit to 35-23 at intermission. Randolph Morris and Ramel Bradley, who hit two big threes to jumpstart the offense, carried UK in the half as they combined for 16 of the team?s 23 points. The rest of the team was just 3-of-14 from the field in the first 20 minutes.
The second half was offense-by-committee as five different Wildcats knocked down three pointers and the team scored 55 points ? by far its highest single-half total of the season ? on 60 percent shooting.
Arkansas tried to stay with the red-hot Cats, and hit 50 percent of their shots, but struggled with nine turnovers and watched as Kentucky hauled down 22 rebounds to the Hogs 11. The Wildcats won the overall rebounding battle 37-31.
The turnovers were particularly harmful as UK scored 18 points off them in the second half, including 11 straight at one point during a 13-3 run that chipped into a 16-point deficit and got Kentucky back into the game, 42-36, just five minutes into the second half.
Morris led Kentucky with a season-high-tying 19 points and a game-high eight rebounds while Rajon Rondo stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, five assists, five steals and four boards. Ravi Moss finished with 11 points and Patrick Sparks had nine to go with his eight assists, which tied his UK career high.
Sheray Thomas provided a big spark off the bench in the second half, scoring seven straight points at one point en route to nine for the game.
Brewer carried the Razorbacks in the second half, scoring 17 of his game-high 23. After scoring eight of Arkansas? first nine points, Jonathan Modica finished with 13. Eric Ferguson added 19 off the bench.
The 12-point halftime deficit marked the fourth-largest Kentucky has overcome to win a game in its history. The 16-point second-half deficit matched last season?s come-from-behind win over Louisville as one of the biggest in school annals.
Kentucky returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Mississippi State. The game, slated for an 8 p.m. ET tip, will be televised by Jefferson Pilot Sports.
