Collin Chandler’s last-minute steal and feed for Otega Oweh’s breakaway layup capped a frantic second-half comeback as Kentucky stunned rival Tennessee, beating the No. 24 Volunteers 80-78 on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville, Tenn.
The steal and layup gave the Wildcats (12-6, 3-2 SEC) their first lead after trailing by 17 in the first half. They then padded it to three and held on for their third straight win and fourth consecutive at Tennessee (12-6, 2-3).
Denzel Aberdeen scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half, two on a crucial layup with 16 seconds left, to spark the rally and seal the victory.
Oweh, Chandler and Jasper Johnson had 12 points apiece as Kentucky made 28 of 59 from the floor (47.5%) and 11 of 24 (45.8%) from deep.
Tennessee’s Ja’Kobi Gillespie had 24 points and eight assists but committed four turnovers. Nate Ament notched 17 points, five rebounds and two steals.
Less than five minutes into the border rivalry matchup, the Volunteers raced off to a 14-8 lead behind 3-of-4 shooting from deep. including two by Gillespie, before a raucous crowd.
An 11-0 run led to a 20-8 margin for the home side, but Kentucky trimmed it to 22-16. Gillespie drained his third trey and then two from the stripe later to boost it to 36-20 at 6:49.
The Wildcats sliced the deficit to 41-29 after Johnson’s jumper and Chandler’s deep shot with just over two minutes left. Their 7-1 run to end the half left it 42-31 at the break.
Gillespie scored 14 in the first half for Tennessee, which held advantages of 10-0 in points off turnovers and 20-12 in rebounding.
Johnson paced Kentucky with 12 points as the team made 5 of 14 (35.7%) from long range but committed eight turnovers.
In the second half, the Volunteers committed three fouls in the first 48 seconds. Kentucky then picked up its game as Aberdeen hit a pair of threes to get it to single digits, 46-38, at 17:41.
Aberdeen stayed hot from deep to make it 58-54 with his third trey with 11 minutes left, and Otega Oweh’s long ball at 7:52 put it at 65-62.
Tennessee led 77-76 with under a minute to play before Chandler’s theft led to Kentucky’s go-ahead play.
–Field Level Media
