LEXINGTON, Ky. – Trailing No. 15/18 Kentucky by nine in the final minute of the first half and by seven with under 14 minutes to play, the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team roared back to take a three-point lead, but could not hold on down the stretch in a 75-64 setback.
Senior guard Zakai Zeigler, who entered the top 25 on the school’s all-time scoring list and the top six on the SEC’s career assists leaderboard, had game highs in points (17) and assists (six) for No. 5/4 Tennessee (20-5, 7-5 SEC) at Rupp Arena.
Kentucky (17-7, 6-5 SEC) scored on its first three possessions to take a 6-0 lead after just 112 seconds. However, the Volunteers allowed just two points over the next 5:44, a span during which they took a 9-8 lead with 12:49 on the timer.
The Wildcats quickly answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to go in front by five, 14-9, just 90 ticks later. Tennessee, amidst a 7-of-8 stretch from the floor after a 2-of-12 start, leveled the score at 21 with 5:39 to play in the stanza.
Kentucky soon thereafter went on a 9-1 run, with three consecutive makes from deep, over 1:52 to take a then-game-best nine-point lead, 33-24, with 1:59 left before the break. The Volunteers scored the last two points of the half to make it 33-26 through 20 minutes. Their 8-of-9 free-throw clip helped counteract a 0-of-5 ledger from 3-point range compared to the Wildcats’ 7-of-14 count.
Tennessee sliced the margin to four, 35-31, just 86 seconds into the second half. It then did so again, 45-41, with 14:59 to go, but home team continued its 3-point barrage and just 26 seconds later and went back up by seven, stretching its long-range mark to 10-of-18.
The Volunteers held Kentucky without a point for 3:28 and during that period cut the deficit to three, 50-47, with 12:45 to play. They then got within two, 54-52, with 9:14 to go on the third made 3-pointer—on as many attempts—of the half by senior forward Igor Miličić Jr.
Just 40 seconds later, Tennessee tied the score at 54 on a pair of fee throws by sophomore forward Cade Phillips. Senior guard Jordan Gainey put the visitors ahead, 56-55, with 7:30 remaining and Zeigler made it 58-55 just 58 ticks later, as Kentucky went 3:34 without a field goal.
The Wildcats then sandwiched an old-fashioned three-point play and a 3-pointer around another Zeigler layup, regaining an advantage, 61-60, with 4:21 on the clock they would not relinquish. Kentucky extended the run to 15-4 in 4:40 and made five consecutive field goals, as it built a 70-62 edge with 1:20 to go. The surge included two 3-pointers by graduate guard Koby Brea, after his team missed its prior four from deep.
Kentucky’s final margin of 11 points, buoyed by a game-ending 20-6 run over the last six minutes, was its largest lead of the evening.
Zeigler’s game-leading point total came on a 7-of-11 clip from the field and included 11 second-half points on 5-of-7 shooting. Miličić scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including a 3-of-4 figure from long range, and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. The Rovinj, Croatia, native had 13 points after the break on a 5-of-6 field-goal ledger. Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier added 10 points and six rebounds, one shy of his season best, in the defeat.
Four Wildcats tallied between 11 and 13 points in a balanced scoring attack. Senior forward Ansley Almonor had 13, shooting 4-of-5 from the field and 3-of-3 at the line, as did junior guard Otega Oweh. Brea and freshman guard Trent Noah had 11 apiece for Kentucky, with the former 3-of-6 on 3-pointers and the former 3-of-4 from the floor.
The Volunteers, who had a commanding 15-3 cushion in second-chance points, finished 3-of-18 (16.7 percent) from 3-point range, with Miličić posting all three makes. Kentucky, meanwhile, shot 12-of-24 (50.0 percent) against the Volunteers for the second time in 15 days.
Tennessee now returns to Knoxville, Tenn., for its lone home outing in a five-game, 23-day span, as it will host Vanderbilt in a Saturday matinee at Food City Center, live on SEC Network at 1 p.m.
