It was all hands on deck for shorthanded Kentucky on Tuesday night and everybody pitched in for an impressive victory Tuesday night.
Making his second start of the season, Koby Brea scored 18 points to lead the No. 12 Wildcats to a 78-73 win over eighth-ranked Tennessee. Kentucky (15-5, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) ended a two-game losing streak and handed the Volunteers their first home loss of the year.
“He's arguably the best shooter in all of basketball in a lot of different aspects and my gosh, he made hard shots and they were on the move," Kentucky coach Mark Pope said of Brea. “I thought he played really well and gave us some life on the defensive end.”
Ansley Almonor joined Brea in the starting lineup in place of injured starting point guard Lamont Butler (shoulder) and forward Andrew Carr (back). Almonor and Brea led five players in double figures for the Wildcats. Alomonor made four of Kentucky’s 12 3-pointers and finished with 12 points.
Behind Brea and Alomonor and Jaxson Robinson, who scored 17, the Wildcats made 12 3-pointers, with Brea, Almonor and Robinson combining for 11 of those treys. Trent Noah’s lone 3-pointer in the second half provided a cushion for the Wildcats. Noah finished with five points, playing his most critical minutes of the season.
“Trent has been great in back-to-back games right now and Trent's not afraid of the moment,” Pope said. “He just out of nowhere says, ‘like, watch this 30-footer and we'll just see what happens.’ Those guys (Noah and Almonor) have been great."
Pope credited Amari Williams for stepping up in the absence of Butler and Carr. Williams had a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds, a season-high of boards, on his birthday.
“I don't think there's a center in the country that's had to carry a load like he had the way he had to carry it tonight,” Pope said. “It was special.”
Williams also took part in the team’s makeshift frontcourt, especially in the second half, putting more pressure on Tennessee’s post players.
“They've got one of the best defensive teams in the nation and I was just trying to take a load off the guys, make it easier to take the ball up the court and it worked out well tonight,” Williams said.
Robinson set the tone for the Wildcats early, scoring 11 of his 17 points in the first half. Robinson connected on three treys and scored eight of his team’s first 12 points, including a sequence of back-to-back 3-pointers.
“Jackson is a freaking gamer,” Pope said. “He is just really special and he was great.”
Kentucky leading scorer Otega Oweh finished in double figures for the 20th time this season with 14 points.
Oweh was fouled with 25.3 seconds left, and he made both charity tosses to give the Cats a 76-73 advantage. Tennessee had a three-point attempt to tie the game, but the shot missed and the Cats got the ball. Oweh hit a pair of free throws with 7.1 seconds left to seal the victory.
Tennessee was 11 of 45 from 3-point range. Igor Milicic led the Volunteers (17-4, 4-4) with 19 points and nine rebounds. Chaz Lanier scored 15 and Zakai Zeigler added 13.
Despite coming off losses to No. 4 Alabama and 24th-ranked Vanderbilt, respectively, Williams said the Wildcats never looked back and were focused on the present.
"We always move on to the next regardless of if it's a win or loss," Williams said. "Like tonight, we're just going to go over it tomorrow, get ready for the next (game). I feel like that shows every night — you don't take a night off."
GAMETRACKER: Arkansas at Kentucky, 8 p.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: ESPN, UK Radio Network SuperTalk 94.3 WKYX, WiLLiE 102.
Kentucky guard Otega Oweh (00) shoots as he's fouled by Tennessee guard Jordan Gainey during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
