Another close loss for Kentucky but ‘I can’t be that upset,’ Calipari says
Kentucky did not sound demoralized by yet another loss in the final seconds. The 81-80 loss to Arkansas on Tuesday night left Kentucky defiant and determined.
Brandon Boston was asked if the loss — which dropped UK’s record to 2-7 in games decided by seven or fewer points — strengthened the team’s resolve to win the Southeastern Conference Tournament and thus secure an NCAA Tournament bid.
“For sure,” he said. “We just can’t worry about the losses. We take those as lessons. Just continue to work and to grow every day.”
Kentucky’s stumbles in the final minutes of games this season has been well-documented.
Against Arkansas, Kentucky executed.
“Today, they were a team trying to create shots and execute for each other,” UK Coach John Calipari said.
Trailing 72-60 going into the final six minutes, the Cats got points on seven of nine trips down court. Boston’s fourth three-pointer capped the spree and brought Kentucky within 78-77 with 28 seconds left.
A three-pointer by Davion Mintz gave Kentucky an 80-79 lead with 12.3 seconds left. It capped a 14-for-26 three-point shooting game for UK. The 14 threes were a season high and only the second time the Cats reached double digits in made three-point shots.
“Just us getting in the gym every day, early morning, late night,” Boston said of Kentucky’s shooting. “Trying to perfect our craft.”
Going into Tuesday’s play, Ken Pomeroy rated UK No. 351 in luck. That seemed prescient. Jalen Tate, a 63.4-percent free throw shooter this season, made two with 4.3 seconds left to give Arkansas the lead.
Boston questioned the foul on Jacob Toppin.
“Honestly, I think it wasn’t a foul,” he said. “I think the refs gave them that game. That’s how I feel.”
Calipari called it a “game-ending call.” He likened it to the call at the end of UK’s loss at Auburn when the officials called a tie-up rather than a foul on Auburn.
“I’ve got to watch the tape,” the UK coach said. “I don’t know. … If it was a foul, it was the right call. If it wasn’t a foul, it was the wrong call.”
The foul on Toppin did not actually end the game.
After a timeout, Olivier Sarr took the inbounds, dribbled near mid-court and threw a pass to Devin Askew that Arkansas intercepted to seal a heart-breaking defeat.
Sarr bent over in seeming agony after the play. It seemed cruel given how Sarr and Askew had combined to spark Kentucky’s rally.
The Cats fell to 5-13 overall and 4-7 in the SEC.
“That’s the best we’ve finished a game,” Calipari said. “So I’m like, I can’t be that upset. Hard for me to be mad. The reality of it is the team fought and they executed. And they threw daggers today. Finally! Guys threw daggers.”
Arkansas improved to 15-5 overall and 7-5 in the SEC.
Sarr and Askew scored 13 and 11 points, respectively. Sarr also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Other UK players in double figures were Boston with 17 points, Mintz with 11 and Keion Brooks with 10.
Kentucky got off to a surprisingly good start. Even with Arkansas ahead 36-35 at halftime, Calipari was pleased. Noting that his team made only 31.3 percent of its shots in the first 20 minutes, he said, “Down (only) one, I love it.”
UK made four of its first six three-point shots. Four threes barely eight minutes into the game was as many as the Cats had in seven previous games this season.
Two surprising players led the breakout. Boston made two and Toppin one. For Toppin, it was his first three (in six attempts) of the season.
Boston had made 11 of 55 this season, and only five of 20 in the last seven games. He credited time spent in the gym, adding, “My confidence is always high.”
With 2.2 seconds left, Kentucky tried to take the lead a la the way Duke and Christian Laettner beat UK in the epic 1992 East Region finals. But Arkansas deflected Toppin’s long inbounds pass from the baseline before it got to Olivier Sarr at the top of the opposite key.
Kentucky had to deal with adversity when Isaiah Jackson picked up his fifth foul and doubled down on the harm with a reaction that the referees decided warranted a technical foul. Even worse, it was UK’s 10th foul, putting Arkansas in the double bonus.
The Razorbacks made all four free throws to take a 72-60 lead with 6:10 left.
“If he missed the call, you’ve just got to let it go,” Calipari said he told Jackson. “You can’t get a tech in a game like this.”
Kentucky rallied. Boston’s third three-pointer started an 8-0 run. Sarr and Askew combined for two scores. Sarr picked and popped on the first and hit a three. Sarr picked and rolled on the second and dunked Askew’s lob. That brought UK within 72-68 to set up yet another possession-by-possession test inside the final four minutes.
This story was originally published February 9, 2021 at 11:00 PM.
