Tre Johnson poured in a career-high 32 points, including eight in the final 3 1/2 minutes, as Texas roared back to upset No. 15 Kentucky 82-78 on Saturday in a key Southeastern Conference game in Austin, Texas.

The Longhorns (16-10, 5-8 SEC) trailed by four at halftime and by 69-64 after a layup by Kentucky’s Amari Williams with 3:51 to play. Texas leapfrogged to the front for good via a 14-1 run that featured a three-point play by Johnson, four points from Tramon Mark, a putback dunk by Kadin Shedrick and culminated with a jumper and a pair of free throws by Johnson, the Longhorns’ freshman phenom.

Johnson also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, and Mark scored 26 as the Longhorns snapped a three-game losing streak. Texas played without Arthur Kaluma, its second-leading scorer and top rebounder.

Otega Oweh led Kentucky with 20 points while Williams added 18 and 12 rebounds and Ansley Almonor had 11 points. The Wildcats (17-8, 6-6), who were missing second-leading scorer Jaxson Robinson and Lamont Butler due to injuries, had a two-game winning streak snapped.

The Wildcats led by as many as seven early on before Texas rallied to tie the game at 15-all on a 3-pointer by Jordan Pope at the 11:55 mark. Five consecutive points by Mark propelled the Longhorns to the front at 20-17 with 10:35 to play, and Texas pushed its lead to five on a layup by Johnson with 8:50 left until halftime.

Kentucky swung back, using an 11-6 spurt to tie the game at 30-all after four straight points by Almonor, with the final two coming on a layup with 4:21 remaining. The Wildcats regained the lead on a 3-pointer by Trent Noah with 3:44 left and pushed their advantage to five before Texas tied the game at 37-all on a layup by Mark.

Kentucky scored the final four points of the half to carry a 41-37 edge into the break.

Johnson led all scorers before halftime with 15 while Mark added 11 for Texas. Williams had nine to pace the Wildcats and Almonor scored eight.

–Field Level Media