No. 4 Tennessee’s Senior Day was ruined by No. 15 Kentucky, who won 85-81 in the Southeastern Conference in Knoxville thanks to 27 points apiece from Antonio Reeves and Reed Sheppard. The Wildcats led by 14 points at the half and maintained their lead throughout. The Wildcats (23-8, 13-5 SEC) saw Rob Dillingham score 11 points, including the game-winning foul throw with five
seconds remaining to end Tennessee’s seven-game winning streak. Justin Edwards contributed 16 points as well. Kentucky, who has won five straight, was able to get revenge on the Volunteers after they lost 103-92 at home in Lexington last month thanks to the outcome.
Tennessee (24-7, 14-4) lost despite a strong performance by Dalton Knecht, who scored a game-high 40 points and drained six 3-pointers. Jonas Aidoo chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Zakai Zeigler added 17 points, including 14 in the second half, and nine assists.
However, the Volunteers were unable to attain the same level of equilibrium as during the first encounter of the teams. After scoring 26 last month, Josiah-Jordan James was restricted to eight points, and Santiago Vescovi was held scoreless after hitting for double digits. After Kentucky built a four-point lead at the half and extended it to sixty-46 after just eight minutes, the dramatic run occurred to start the second half. During that run, Reeves and Sheppard combined to score the first nine points and 21 of the 27 points, dealing most of the damage.
With 55 seconds remaining, Tennessee made one last effort to cut the lead to 11. After the Wildcats were called for a 10-second penalty, it scored eight straight points and had a chance to tie the game, but James’ 3-point attempt missed the mark.
A defensive-minded first half marked a 180-degree shift from the teams’ first meeting as neither team could find the range. Almost 4 1/2 minutes into the game, Kentucky led 4-3 at the first TV timeout. Until Tobe Awaka’s foul shot for the Volunteers at 13:02, neither team scored 10 points. However, the Wildcats scored nine points in a row to take the lead for the rest of the game thanks to two 3-pointers from Reeves and one from Sheppard. They had a 33-29 lead at half.
