AUSTIN, TX. — No. 15 Kentucky men’s basketball suffered a late stunner at Texas, falling short 82-78 in the Moody Center.
Kentucky led for nearly 23 minutes in the contest, but couldn’t bring it home when it came down to it.
Looking to string together a second-straight win against a school going by “UT,” Kentucky took the floor without starting point guard Lamont Butler (shoulder), backup point guard Kerr Kriisa (foot) and fill-in point guard Jaxson Robinson (wrist). With this in mind, Kentucky’s own Travis Perry filled into the starting lineup with the freshman joining Otega Oweh, Koby Brea, Amari Williams and Ansley Almonor.
Looking to make an impact in the first ever SEC showdown between the Wildcats and Texas in men’s basketball, Kentucky grabbed UT by the horns and jumped out to an early lead, holding a 9-2 advantage after less than four minutes of play. Texas Head Coach Rodney Terry had seen enough, and called a timeout.
The Horns got back in shape after the break, seeing red and getting back within one score after a 4-0 run preceded the first media timeout.
Kentucky fans in attendance, who had quickly started a “Go Big Blue” chant, were treated early to the insertions of Trent Noah, Andrew Carr, Brandon Garrison and Collin Chandler as Head Coach Mark Pope was forced to do his best with his limited roster.
The Cats would steadily lead for first quarter of action before momentum began to shift in Texas’ favor with a scoring surge just over halfway through the half.
Kentucky would soon regain its advantage, however, and take a four-point lead into halftime after spreading the love offensively while Texas was entirely reliant on the pairing of Tre Johnson and Tramon Mark.
Back out for the second half, Kentucky would once again hold the lead early, keeping a steady advantage for much of the third quarter of action.
Just as was the case in the first half, however, Texas would refuse to be messed with, and, with all eyes upon Texas, the Longhorns took the advantage back with 12 minutes to play.
This time it would be UT to hold onto the steady advantage for a while, but not too long as Kentucky was able to tie the game and retake the lead at the free-throw line with just under eight left to play.
Kentucky would do more than just take the lead, however, as a 6-0 scoring run would put the visitors up by multiple scores and force another Texas timeout.
Late in the Lone Star standoff, things began to appear to resemble a war of attrition as foul trouble became an issue for both sides. The first casualty of the battle would ultimately be Carr, who fouled out with over 3.5 minutes remaining.
With further issues to its depth, Kentucky found itself truly struggling late, surrendering the lead for the final time as Johnson and Mark combined for 58 in the winning effort for UT.
Kentucky will return to action on its home court on Wednesday, Feb. 19, in a revenge game against the Vanderbilt Commodores. Tipoff against Vandy is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and will air live on the SEC Network.
