NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Missouri made things interesting down the stretch but Kentucky held on to beat the Tigers 78-72 in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
The game had a good pace to start with Denzel Aberdeen hitting a three and Collin Chandler getting a steal and dunk. Before the first media timeout, Malachi Moreno played a good pick and roll for a lay-up and the Wildcats were up 9-7 with 15:32 to go in the first half.
UK came out of the break with five unanswered points including back-to-back dunks from Mo Dioubate and Collin Chandler. The Wildcats built a 14-7 lead as the Tigers called timeout. Missouri fought back within one when Otega Oweh finally scored his first points of the game on a fast break alley-oop after a UK steal.
The Wildcats were holding a 28-22 lead when they went on a 7-2 scoring run. Kam Williams knocked down a three and Oweh put a shot back in off a miss. After a Tigers score, Andrija Jelavic scored inside to give the Wildcats a 35-24 advantage.
Kentucky carried a nine point advantage into the half, 38-29. Five different Wildcats were the leading scorers. Oweh, Aberdeen, Jelavic, Moreno and Dioubate had six points each. UK shot 48% from the field while Mizzou was just 38%.
Kentucky started the second half on a 7-2 run. Chandler with a three, and a couple of Tigers turnovers turned into layups for Aberdeen and Oweh. The Wildcats extended the lead in the first five and a half minutes to 16 points after Chandler hit three straight free throws. 53-37 Kentucky.
The Tigers quickly chipped away and when Shawn Phillips, Jr. hit a shot as he was fouled the lead was back to single digits. He missed the free throw but Kentucky's lead was just 58-49. That was fouled by Trent Harris scoring off a turnover and it was 58-51.
With just under 10 minutes to play, the Tigers got it closer. Mark Mitchell hit a bucket to cut it to 60-55. After a UK miss, Mitchell was fouled and he hit 1-of-2 to cut it to 60-56. After another defensive stop, Mitchell went back to the free throw line where he, again, went 1-of-2 for a 60-57 UK advantage.
Chandler finally helped stop the bleeding with a fake, move to the right and three pointer. UK was back in front by more than one possession, 63-57.
Missouri took a 70-69 lead with 2:34 to play thanks to a Mark Mitchell turnaround jumper but Denzel Aberdeen and Otega Oweh answered back, scoring six straight points giving Kentucky at 75-70 advantage with 0:22 seconds to play.
A skirmish led to double-technical fouls being called on Kentucky's Brandon Garrison and Missouri's Shawn Phillips Jr.
Otega Oweh led Kentucky with 21 points and Kentucky moves on to face Florida for the third time in the last month. Tipoff is 1 p.m. on ESPN
