17 Kentucky gets back to winning ways, beats Vanderbilt 82-61

Credit- UK Athletics

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW)- Kentucky gets its revenge against Vanderbilt for a mid-season loss in Nashville as the Wildcats beat the Commodores at home on Wednesday night, 82-61.

Otega Oweh led the team in points with 20 and rebounds with seven. As a whole, UK shot well going 58% from the field, 40% from behind the arc and perfect at the free throw line.

From a one point halftime lead of 41-40, Kentucky hit its stride in the second outscoring Vanderbilt 41-21 avoiding a third two-game losing streak of the season with the win.

The impact of the injuries to Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson and Kerr Kriisa seemed to take a backseat.

“I think (this win) will give them a lot of confidence,” said Head Coach Mark Pope. “What’s fun was we had contributions from everyone. (Vanderbilt) is a really good team. This is a team that we respect a lot.”

Perry’s Performance

Kentucky native Travis Perry started his first-ever game in Rupp Arena as a Wildcat and hadn’t registered a point at the half.

But, in the second stanza, Perry sank two threes which would be his only points of the night.

“He’s continuing to grow every single practice, every day and every game,” said forward Andrew Carr. “The confidence is growing for him and it’s really cool to see.”

“He’s great. He’s shooting shots that I feel like no other freshman would be confident enough to take,” said center Amari Williams. “Trent (Noah) and Collin (Chandler) too. I feel like all the freshman were great tonight.”

Chandler’s 15 Minutes of Game

The freshman was a spark plug for Kentucky as he played 15 minutes, most of which at point guard, accounting for seven points, six rebounds and two assists.

On defense, the guard added two steals in his longest outing since Arkansas at home when he played 17 minutes. Since then, Chandler had tallied a combined 12 minutes in four games.

Chandler’s performances, in his opinion, come down to his perseverance during his first college season.

“I’ve grown a lot mentally. I thought I was decently mentally tough coming in, but I’ve had to have a lot of learning and patience not being able to play right away and getting used to everything again,” said Chandler. “It’s an experience that’s been full of frustration, but it’s helped me a lot. I’m going to continue to respond well to that.”

Will the Revenge Tour Continue?

Kentucky has the chance to get even with another SEC team on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama versus the Crimson Tide, who beat UK in Lexington earlier this season.

The last meeting was decided by five points as Nate Oats’ team bested the Cats 102-97.

Center Amari Williams scored 11 and grabbed 13 boards in that game. He says that his Cats can take plenty away from this win to their tough road test.

“The togetherness and the defense we showed tonight,” said Williams. “The confidence that we gave ourselves went a long way and that’s why we made so many shots.”