COMEBACK CATS STRIKE AGAIN! Kentucky beats Tennessee, 80-78

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The comeback Cats strike again.

Despite trailing by as many as 17 points and leading for only 34 seconds of the game's 40 minutes, the Kentucky men's basketball team, somehow, pulled off another gritty, come-from-behind road win, three days after doing the same in Baton Rouge. In Knoxville, it was a high-scoring second half (a 49-36 UK advantage) which made the difference for the Wildcats, 80-78, against No. 24 Tennessee.

With the win, Kentucky improves to 12-6 on the year and earns its first winning record since league play began, now with a 3-2 mark against SEC competition. The Cats are 4-6 when trailing at the half.

Tennessee's senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie led all scorers with 24 points, including four made three-pointers. Five-star freshman Nate Ament struggled offensively in the first half but found a groove in the second, finishing with 17 points against the Cats.

Denzel Aberdeen led the way for Kentucky with 22 points, 18 of which came in the second half.

After earning his second-consecutive start, Andrija Jelavic quickly got on the board first for the Wildcats. He scored five of Kentucky's first eight points, including an early connection from beyond-the-arc.

Kam Williams joined him in the starting lineup for the second-straight game, but it didn't take long for Kentucky head coach Mark Pope to have to go to the bench. Denzel Aberdeen picked up two early fouls within the first two minutes and eight seconds.

With Kentucky already on its second-string floor general, Pope was forced to go to the true freshman, Jasper Johnson, who earned his first significant minutes of SEC play.

After playing zero, six, eight and ten minutes in Kentucky's first four SEC games, Johnson debuted in Knoxville with 12 points and four assists and one turnover in 19 minutes of action in the rivalry game. He made each of his first five field-goal attempts (including a pair of triples) and finished the game 5-6 from the floor.

It was the second-highest scoring game of Johnson's collegiate career, behind only his 22-point outing against NC Central in early December.

Not only did Johnson run Kentucky's offense for the majority of the first half, he was Kentucky's offense for the majority of the first half. He did not score in the second half, playing just six minutes after the break.

With the Volunteers leading by 12, Johnson hit his second triple of the day with 13:12 remaining in the first to get his team back within single digits. Collin Chandler sank his first of the afternoon less than a minute later, with UT leading 22-14.

With the first half creeping by, the Vols began to slow.

The Volunteers did not make a single field goal in the last three minutes and 23 seconds of the first half, connecting on zero of their final four shot attempts and just one of their last eight.

Still, Tennessee went to the locker room with a double-digit advantage, 42-31.

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The Vols out-rebounded the Cats 20-12 in the first half, including an 8-1 advantage off of the offensive glass. The good news for the Wildcats was that advantage had not translated into points, as Kentucky and Tennessee had two second-chance points apiece at the break.

The Vols did, however, make the most of Kentucky's miscues, turning eight Wildcat turnovers into ten first-half points.

At halftime, Johnson was the only Wildcat in double figures (12), while Chandler had six points off of 2-4 shooting from deep. Jelavic had five points but had not scored since the game's opening minutes.

Otega Oweh had just two points; he was 0-2 from deep and had not attempted a shot inside-the-arc.

He changed that less than one minute into the second half, when he was fouled while attempting to drive into the paint. The bucket didn't fall, but Oweh went to the line with a chance for two. He missed them both.

Back-to-back successful three-pointers by Aberdeen got the Cats back within eight, 46-38, but Ament sank two free throws on the following possession to quickly push Tennessee's lead back to double figures.

Those two, specifically, were battling. Ament drilled a triple with 11:12 to play in the game, but Aberdeen answered 12 seconds later on the other end with a three-pointer of his own. Aberdeen's shot kept it a four-point game, 58-54.

The fight continued. With two minutes left in the game, the Cats were still within striking distance but the Vols were yet to surrender the lead, with Tennessee leading, 76-73.

Mo Dioubate hit double-figures with a jumper to cut it to one, 76-75, with 1:46 on the clock.

After Gillespie's 1-2 trip to the free throw line, Pope called timeout to steady his team for the final minute and change. Oweh made a layup and was fouled, creating the chance for a three-point play. He missed the free throw, but Dioubate came up with the rebound to give the Wildcats another possession.

They capitalized.

Aberdeen rolled in a layup with 16 seconds remaining to put the Wildcats up by three, 80-77. Timeout, Rick Barnes.

The Vols missed the resulting three-point attempt.

They would add one more point to the board, but the Cats hung on for the two-point win, 80-78. Tennessee did not score a field goal in the final five minutes and 38 seconds.

Oweh continued his double-figure scoring streak, adding 12 points and two steals in the win. Chandler finished with 12 points, in addition to three steals, two assists and a block, with all of his points coming from beyond-the-arc. As a team, the Cats went 11-24 from deep.

Kentucky turned the ball over only once in the second half, while winning the rebounding battle by one.

BBN Tonight

After a two game road swing, the Wildcats will return to Rupp Arena Wednesday night to host Texas. Tipoff between the Cats and the Longhorns is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

For more on Kentucky basketball and all of the Wildcats, join us on BBN Tonight, airing weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on the official station for UK Athletics, LEX 18.