By Jamie Vaught
KySportsStyle.com Magazine
AUSTIN, Texas -- Even without injured stars Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson, it was a winnable game for 15th-ranked Kentucky Saturday night.
But things didn’t work out for the shorthanded Wildcats at the end when the unranked Texas Longhorns took over with less than four minutes remaining. With UK leading 69-64, the Longhorns woke up and took control with an amazing 14-1 run as they won 82-78 before a crowd of 11,060 at Moody Center.
“They (the Longhorns) certainly earned the win,” said Kentucky coach Mark Pope. “I thought our guys fought really hard. I thought we really competed. We didn’t execute the way you need to down the stretch to win a game.”
Pope, whose Wildcats dropped to 17-8 overall and 6-6 in the SEC, added the disappointing loss was “super painful. It’s not acceptable.”
Kentucky, which committed 15 costly turnovers, led most of the game, including a four-point advantage at the intermission.
With Butler, Robinson and Kerr Kriisa out, the Wildcats have played only seven games this season at full strength.
UK freshmen Travis Perry and Trent Noah saw lots of action. Perry, who made his first collegiate start, had six points in 28 minutes while Noah gunned in seven points and grabbed a career-high six rebounds in 21 minutes.
Said Pope, “Travis Perry stepped up and really battled like crazy tonight. Trent Noah is doing unbelievable work.”
Kentucky’s Amari Williams earned his eighth double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Williams only hit 5 of 11 free throws.
Otega Oweh led UK with 20 points.
Kentucky guard Koby Brea was not much of a factor in the scoring column against the Longhorns as he failed to hit a single field goal on 0 for 6 shooting, including four 3-point attempts. Brea, who played 35 minutes, finished with only four points on 4 of 4 free throws.
In recent games, Krea, who last season led the nation in three-point shooting percentage (49.8 percent), has struggled with his three-pointers, In the last five games, he has made 28.6 percent of his three-pointers.
For Texas, which improved to 16-10 overall and 5-8 in SEC, freshman Tre Johnson and graduate transfer Tramon Mark hit 32 and 26 points, respectively.
Despite the win, the Longhorns hit only 5 of 23 three-pointers for 21.7 percent.
Kentucky's next matchup is Wednesday night when the Wildcats host Vanderbilt at Rupp Arena. The 7 p.m. ET contest will be shown on SEC Network. In the last meeting between both schools, Vanderbilt defeated UK 74-69 in late January in Nashville.
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