Kentucky-Tennessee game ends with skirmish after UK completes 17-point comeback
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Kentucky overturned a 17-point hole to take down Tennessee, 80-78, in Knoxville for the Wildcats’ third win in a row.
This one, though, took a chippy turn after the final whistle.
After the Vols’ Ja’Kobi Gillespie intentionally missed the second of two free throws with his team down two, a scrum under the basket ensued before Tennessee eventually ended up with the rebound. But it couldn’t get a shot off in time before time ran out.
That’s when tempers began to flare. But both staffs were able to separate their players before things really got out of hand.
Here’s how it looked on ESPN:
The Wildcats looked out of this one with just under three and a half minutes to go in the first half as Amaree Abram’s three-pointer gave the Vols a 41-24 lead. That advantage sat at 42-31 at the break.
Kentucky eventually got it to single digits, finally taking the lead at 78-77 with 34 seconds to go after Collin Chandler’s steal led to a lay-up for Otega Oweh. Tennessee had a chance to tie things up after being sent to the line in the final seconds, but never got a good look as the Wildcats held on to extend their winning streak.
Denzel Aberdeen had 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Oweh struggled despite his late bucket, posting just 12 points after going 3-of-11 from the floor.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
