It didn’t take a last second-shot for Kentucky to defeat Oklahoma on Wednesday night.
The Wildcats used a pair of last-second heroics by Otega Oweh to sweep the Sooners last season, but this time they put struggling Oklahoma away early and handed the Sooners their ninth consecutive loss with a 94-78 victory.
The Sooners (11-12, 1-9 Southeastern Conference) haven’t won since posting an 86-70 triumph over Ole Miss in their conference opener on Jan. 3.
The win was the seventh in the past eight games for Kentucky, which showed no signs of a letdown following Saturday night’s 95-77 win at No. 21 Arkansas.
In a short postgame appearance, Kentucky coach Mark Pope praised his team’s performance.
“I'm super proud of our guys, really proud of the effort,” said Pope, who briefly appeared at the podium before leaving to pick up his daughter at Bluegrass Airport. “I’m really proud — (Brandon Garrison), stepping up and being great. Otega continues to play at an elite level. We got contributions from everybody.”
Garrison finished with a season-high 20 points — one shy of his career-high — and grabbed 11 rebounds against the Sooners. Garrison has scored 24 in the past two games after tallying 15 in the first eight conference encounters.
“I just try to stay consistent, working on (my game), practicing hard … just keeping my head,” he said.
The Wildcats (16-7, 7-3) connected on five of their first 10 field goals from long range. Kentucky’s first four field goals were from behind the arc as Denzel Aberdeen and Andrija Jelavic each hit two 3-pointers to jumpstart the team’s offense.
“I thought tonight they came out and executed,” Kentucky assistant coach Jason Hart said. “(Oklahoma) has been playing well, although their record doesn't indicate it. Our guys have stepped up and accepted the challenge and were able to fight through those issues.”
Oweh led the Wildcats with 24 points against his former team. Oweh, who was the hero against his former team twice last season, has scored double figures in all 23 games this season. He has scored 20 or more points 16 times against conference foes in his two seasons at Kentucky.
“Otega is just an elite player,” Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said of his former player. “He obviously can knock down the shot. He puts you in a really decision-making mode off ball screens, because he can turn the corner on you. Now he's making really good decisions passing out of it, I just see he's just becoming a complete player.”
Collin Chandler, who has been crucial down the stretch for Kentucky, played a big role for the Wildcats with 18 points. Chandler missed his first three 3-pointers but knocked down three in the final six minutes of the first half. Chandler made back-to-back threes in an 8-0 Kentucky run to close out the first half.
Behind Chandler and Oweh, who combined for seven treys, the Wildcats made 12 shots from long range. Kentucky connected on 9-of-16 treys in the first half to set the tone for the team’s fourth consecutive home victory.
The difference-makers for the hosts were Oweh and Garrison. Garrison began his collegiate career at Oklahoma State. Hart said both players were motivated from start to finish.
“You want to impress them,” Hart said. “And then Brandon, he just steps up and brings energy. He's from Oklahoma, so he gets bragging rights when you go home in the summertime and see those guys. (We are) just happy to play well tonight. We needed it.”
GAMETRACKER: Tennessee at Kentucky, 7:30 p.m.CT, Saturday. TV/Radio: ESPN, UK Radio Network on 94.7 The Mix and WiLLiE 102.
Photo by Les Nicholson - Kentucky Today
