Kentucky finds a go-to guy, then falls apart down the stretch vs. Vols
When asked Friday about Kentucky’s lack of a go-to guy, Keion Brooks downplayed the need for such a player.
“Even when a team has a go-to guy, the other team may step up and make plays and do what they can,” he said. “Then everybody has to step up.”
That Keion, what a kidder.
Brooks played the role of go-to guy in leading Kentucky to the brink of a much-needed victory over No. 11 Tennessee on Saturday night.
Then Kentucky’s failure to play well in the clutch reemerged, this time seemingly in CAPITAL LETTERS.
This time Kentucky lost 82-71.
UK led 58-48 with 11:58 remaining. Tennessee outscored the Cats 34-13 thereafter. That spurt included a 12-0 run that put Kentucky behind 74-64 with less than four minutes left.
Brooks delivered a career-high 23 points, but he was scoreless in the decisive final seven-plus minutes and no other UK player picked up the slack. Kentucky fell to 5-12 overall and 4-6 in the Southeastern Conference.
Tennessee, which got a career-high 27 points from freshman Keon Johnson, improved to 13-4 overall and 6-4 in the SEC. Another freshman, Jaden Springer, added 23 points.
The first half could hardly have gone better for Kentucky.
UK committed only two turnovers. Both were dead-ball turnovers — a walk by Brooks and a charge by Olivier Sarr — so no fast-break opportunities for Tennessee.
Tennessee got into immediate and severe foul trouble. Before the first television timeout, big man John Fulkerson and point guard Santiago Vescovi each had two fouls.
In what might have been a record, Kentucky shot its first one-and-one at the 14:09 mark. UK was eligible for the double bonus when Tennessee committed its 10th foul with 10 minutes left in the half.
Further helping Kentucky was the near invisibility of Tennessee’s three on-court leaders. Yves Pons, Fulkerson and Vescovi combined to make one of six shots and score two points. This from a trio that came into the game averaging a combined 29.1 points. Fulkerson and Vescovi played three and seven minutes, respectively.
A 12-2 mini-run in the final five-plus minutes gave Kentucky a 42-34 halftime lead.
Brooks scored the final five points to complete an 11-point half. That topped his average of 10.1 points coming into the game.
The beginning of the second half was the polar opposite of the first. Kentucky was the team that got called for multiple fouls. UK had six by the first TV timeout. With the lead at 48-41, the prospect of another test of Kentucky’s ability to execute in the final minutes of a game loomed.
Tennessee got as close as 50-46. Then Brooks responded in emphatic fashion. He drove for a basket that gave him 17 points, two more than his previous career high.
Brooks followed up with a putback and a pull-up jumper in the lane.
When Brandon Boston dunked on a fast break set up by a Tennessee turnover, Kentucky led 58-48 with 11:58 left. Tennessee called timeout.
It worked. The 10-point lead turned out to be a zenith for Kentucky. The Vols scored the next 12 points. Johnson scored six of those, including a layup that put Tennessee ahead 60-58 with 8:39 left. That was the Vols’ first lead since the 5:41 mark of the first half.
Then Kentucky went scoreless for more than four minutes, a span that included two turnovers, Brooks having a three-point shot blocked from behind and Boston clanging a driving dunk off the back of the rim.
In that time, Tennessee scored 12 straight points to take a 74-64 lead into the final 3:13.
Next game
Arkansas at Kentucky
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
TV: ESPN
This story was originally published February 6, 2021 at 10:32 PM.
