No. 17 Kentucky Falls at No. 23 Tennessee
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Quade Green scored 14 points and PJ Washington added 13, but 17th-ranked Kentucky lost at No. 23 Tennessee 76-65 on Saturday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Kentucky (12-3, 2-1 SEC) got 11 points from Wenyen Gabriel, who hit three of his four attempts from behind the arc. Nick Richards had nine points and eight rebounds for the Wildcats, while Kevin Knox had eight points and five boards.
The Wildcats connected on 46.2 percent (24-52) of their shots, while the Vols hit 45.5 percent (25-55) of their field goal attempts. Kentucky was 7-19 from behind the arc, while Tennessee hit 8-22 from long range. Kentucky was 10-18 from the free throw line, while Tennessee was 18-24.
Kentucky outscored Tennessee 32-30 in the paint, and the Wildcats held the advantage in bench points, 18-17.
The game was tight early before Kentucky went on a 7-0 run to open a 16-9 lead. Tennessee scored the next six points to cut the lead to one, but Kentucky answered by scoring the next eight points to establish a 24-15 advantage.
Tennessee (10-4, 1-2) was able to get within one, 28-27, before Kentucky finished the half on a 9-2 run to take a 37-29 lead into the break. Washington had 11 points in the first half for the Wildcats.
In the second half, the Vols put together a 10-2 run to tie the game at 39 apiece. The teams would trade leads and be tied for the next few minutes, and the game was even, 47-47, with 13:57 left. That’s when Tennessee went on a decisive 13-3 run to take a 60-50 lead with 8:15 remaining.
Kentucky was able to get within seven on two occasions, the last coming when Knox hit a pair of free throws with 5:37 left in the game. However, the Wildcats would get no closer.
Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield led all scorers with 20 points.
Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday, when the Wildcats host No. 11 Texas A&M at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on ESPN.
