Oweh's Huge Second Half Lifts Cats to Saturday Win
Otega Oweh scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half as Kentucky held off Ole Miss 72-63 on Saturday at Rupp Arena.
Oweh was saddled with foul trouble in the first half, but more than made up for it with his big second-half effort.
The Cats got 12 points from Collin Chandler and 11 from Jasper Johnson.
Kentucky scored first as Oweh made a pair of free throws. After Ole Miss scored four in a row, UK made its first basket, a three from Andrija Jelavic. The Rebels scored the next three to lead 7-5.
Chandler made two free throws to tie the game, and Mo Dioubate scored to give the Cats a 9-7. After Ole Miss tied the game, Dioubate scored again to give UK the lead back. However, the Rebels scored the next six to lead 15-11.
Johnson then got on a roll. He banked in a three from the wing, banked in a shot in the lane, then hit a pull-up three, giving Kentucky a 19-15 lead. Ole Miss would score to get within two.
Oweh made one-of-two at the line, then Chandler made two free throws to extend the lead to 22-17. After an Ole Miss basket, Chandler made two more free throws, Denzel Aberdeen scored and Trent Noah hit a three to stretch the UK lead to 29-19. The Rebels scored the final four points of the half, but Kentucky led 29-23 at the break.
Ole Miss scored the first four points of the second half before Chandler hit a three and Oweh made two free throws, giving UK a 34-27 lead. After the Rebels scored, Oweh scored on a dunk and Jelavic made a free throw to make it 37-29. However, the Rebels scored seven in a row to get within one.
Oweh made a baseline jumper to give Kentucky a 39-36 lead, but Ole Miss tied the game with a three. Johnson answered with a three of his own and the Cats took the lead back, 42-39. Oweh scored again to extend the lead to five before Ole Miss hit a three to cut the UK lead to 44-42.
Jelavic scored in the lane to extend the lead to four, but Ole Miss hit a three to get within one, 46-45. A pair of Malachi Moreno free throws and two more from Oweh stretched the lead to 50-45. However, the Rebels again fought back to within one.
Aberdeen then hit two free throws to extend the lead to three and an Oweh three gave UK a 55-49 lead. After the Rebels got within two, Oweh scored again and Kentucky led 57-53. After an Ole Miss free throw, Oweh made one of two at the line and Dioubate hit a pair, giving the Cats a 60-54 advantage. Ole Miss would score to get within four.
Oweh drove to the basket and scored again to extend the lead to six, but Ole Miss responded yet again, scoring four in a row to get within two, 62-60. Moreno made a free throw, then Chandler drained a three, stretching the UK lead to 66-60 with 47 seconds remaining. Two Moreno free throws sealed the deal for UK.
Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday, visiting Nashville to face Vanderbilt. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on ESPN.
