LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky had its worst shooting game of the season but held off Houston 77-70 Wednesday night to survive a scare in its final tuneup before Southeastern Conference play.
The Wildcats (11-3) never trailed in winning their seventh in a row but couldn’t pull away from the Cougars despite an early 10-0 lead. They shot just 39 percent from the field _ surpassing the season-worst 41 percent last month in a much more comfortable victory over Santa Clara.
A 3-point play by Oliver Lafayette with less than three minutes to go tied the game at 68, but Randolph Morris hit a turn-around jumper to give the Wildcats the lead for good.
Morris led the team with 20 points _ 10 of them from the free-throw line. He added 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double in six games.
Freshman guard Derrick Jasper had 12 points to match a career high.
The Cougars (5-7), who lost three in a row prior to their visit to Rupp Arena, kept making clutch 3-pointers to keep it close. Lafayette led all Cougars scorers with 19 points.
Although Houston outscored Kentucky in the paint 30-26, Kentucky was able to hold on largely because Morris stayed out of foul trouble and the Cougars didn’t. The Wildcats made 24 trips to the line and connected on 17 of the shots, compared with five for Houston.
Shooting from the field was another story for the Wildcats. Kentucky made its first five shots in the first three minutes but connected on barely one-third of them _ 21 of 61 _ after that.
Despite woeful early shooting by the Cougars, offensive rebounds _ including three on one possession _ kept the game from getting too far out of hand.
The Cougars tied the game at 44 when Jahmar Thorpe scored on a layup and drew a foul from Jasper. But Thorpe missed the free throw and Sheray Thomas hit a 3-pointer the next trip down to give Kentucky more breathing room.
Thomas later committed what appeared to be a critical foul when Dion Dowell was attempting a 3-point shot, but he missed all three free throws. Houston tied the game anyway a minute later on a 3-pointer by Lafayette.
