UK withstand late-surge from Alabama on the road
Freshman forward Bam Adebayo steals the ball during the game against LSU at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY. on Tuesday, February 7, 2017. Kentucky defeated LSU 92-85. Photo by Lydia Emeric | Staff.
February 11, 2017
After a tough win at home against LSU, No. 15 UK men’s basketball traveled to Tuscaloosa to face the Alabama Crimson Tide Saturday afternoon. The Cats played a good all-around game defeating the Crimson Tide 67-58 giving UK their 10th SEC win, tying them with No. 17 Florida for first place in conference.
The story of the first half for the Cats was their defense. In the first half, the Cats only allowed 20 points but they also forced eight turnovers and blocked five shots as well. Alabama’s 20 point first half was the fewest points scored in a half against UK this season.
Bam Adebayo was one of the high point men for the Cats scoring 14 points to go along with seven rebounds and two of the teams six blocks. Eight of his 14 points came off of dunks that got the team going. He was neutralized in the second half picking up his fourth foul with 9:54 left in the in the game and later fouled out of the game with six minutes left.
Foul trouble was huge down the stretch in the game for the Cats. Besides Adebayo, there were four Cats who finished the game with four fouls and one more who finished with three. If it wasn’t for the Crimson Tide’s horrific 9-26 free throw shooting, UK could have found itself in trouble.
The Crimson Tide were led by forward Braxton Key as he scored a team-high 21 points. His play in the second half was crucial for Alabama as he would score 17 of his 21 in the second half. After being down by as much as 18, his play helped get the Crimson Tide get within six points of UK’s lead with under three minutes left in the game.
It was Isaiah Briscoe who played big in helping hold off Alabama in the crucial moments of the game when it got close.
Briscoe would finish the game with 11 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. It was Briscoe’s fourth double-double of the season and his sixth in his time at UK. He scored seven of his 11 points in the final 4:24 of the game to help the Cats close out the game.
This win over Alabama brings the Cats record up to 20-5 on the year and 10-2 in SEC play this season. The Cats will look to keep the ball rolling as they will start to prepare for their next home game on Valentine’s Day as they battle against Tennessee for the second time this season. The last time these two teams met Tennessee beat the Cats by two in Knoxville.
