Kentucky rallies past No. 25 Tennessee once again; completes season sweep of the Vols

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) — The Kentucky Wildcats rallied past the No. 25 Tennessee Volunteers for a 74–71 victory Saturday night inside Rupp Arena. The win secured Kentucky a season sweep of the Volunteers.

Kentucky struggled to slow Tennessee in the first half, allowing eight three-pointers on 15 attempts (53%). All eight threes came from Nate Ament and Ja’kobi Gillespie, who each knocked down four. The duo combined for 33 first-half points as Tennessee took a 47–33 lead into the break.

Kentucky made a furious run to open the second half, going on a 28–13 surge over the first 13:42 to take its first lead since holding an 8–7 advantage early in the game. The contest went back and forth the rest of the way until Colin Chandler buried a three-pointer with 33 seconds remaining to give the Wildcats a 71–69 lead, which they would not relinquish.

Otega Oweh led Kentucky with 21 points. Denzel Aberdeen added 16, while Malachi Moreno chipped in 10 to round out the Wildcats’ scoring in double figures.

Nate Ament paced Tennessee with 29 points, tying a career high. Ja’kobi Gillespie finished with 15, while J.P. Estrella (11) and Bishop Boswell (10) also scored in double figures for the Volunteers.

Despite being out-rebounded by 15 and shooting worse than Tennessee from both the free-throw line and three-point range, Kentucky was able to secure the victory.

The win marks Kentucky’s eighth victory in its last nine games after opening SEC play 0–2. The loss snapped Tennessee’s four-game winning streak.

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope improved to 4–1 against Tennessee in his two seasons at the helm.

With the win, Kentucky improves to 17–7 overall and 8–3 in SEC play, remaining just a half-game out of first place. Tennessee falls to 16–7 overall and 6–4 in the conference.

The Wildcats now enter their SEC bye week and will return to action next Saturday on the road against the conference-leading Florida Gators (17–6, 8–2 SEC). Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. on ABC 36.