No. 9 Kentucky Falls at Vanderbilt on Saturday
Otega Oweh scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but No. 9 Kentucky lost at Vanderbilt 74-69 on Saturday.
Ansley Almonor, who started in place of the injured Andrew Carr, scored 12 points and Jaxson Robinson added 11. However, the Cats were hampered by 17 turnovers, which Vandy turned into 14 points. On the flip side, the Commodores turned the ball over just five times and UK converted those into just seven points.
Kentucky (14-5, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) scored the first points of the game on an Amari Williams dunk. However, Vandy responded with a 7-2 run to take a 7-4 lead. UK then got an Oweh layup and an Almonor three to lead 9-7.
Vanderbilt (16-4, 4-3) responded with an 8-3 run to lead 15-12, forcing a UK timeout. The Cats would respond with a Brandon Garrison basket to cut the deficit to one. After a Vandy three-pointer, Garrison scored again, making it 18-16. A Koby Brea three gave UK a 19-18 lead but the Commodores hit a three of their own to lead 21-19.
Robinson then hit a three and the Cats led 22-21. A Williams free throw made it 23-21, but the Commodores went on a 16-2 run to extend the lead to 37-25. A Garrison basket stopped the run but the ‘Dores scored the final four points of the first half and took a 41-27 lead into the break.
The second half started with a Kentucky run. Lamont Butler hit a three, followed by two Oweh free throws and an Almonor three. Oweh then converted a layup and free throw, closing an 11-0 run to make it 41-38. Vandy responded with an 8-3 run that extended the lead to 49-41.
An Almonor three got the Cats within five, 49-44 and a Robinson bucket got UK even closer, 49-46. When Garrison scored, Kentucky was within one, 49-48. After a Vandy bucket, Robinson hit a three from the left wing to tie the game at 51-51.
Kentucky would take the lead on a Butler layup. On the next possession, Butler made one of two at the line and the Cats led 54-51. Baskets by Oweh and Williams made it 58-51 and closed a 17-2 run.
Vandy scored the next six points before an Oweh dunk made it 60-57. However, the Commodores made three of four at the line to tie the game again, this time at 60-60.
Kentucky took the lead back on another Oweh bucket before Vandy tied the game at 62 apiece. Oweh made one of two to give the Cats a 63-62 lead but the Commodores scored the next four to lead 66-63.
Oweh again made the first of two free throws, but missed the second. However, he rebounded his miss and Almonor ultimately hit a three to give UK a 67-66 lead. Vandy took the lead right back, but Oweh struck again, scoring in the lane and giving the Cats a 69-68 lead with 2:56 left.
The Commodores took the lead back on a three, making it 71-69. Vandy would score the final six points of the game to lock up the win.
Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday, visiting nationally-ranked Tennessee in Knoxville. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on ESPN.
