FINAL: Antonio Reeves' 24 points lift Kentucky to must-have win over Arkansas

Phew…

On Saturday night in Fayetteville, No. 6 Kentucky (15-4; 5-2 SEC) shook off a rough first half to take down the Arkansas Razorbacks (10-10; 1-6 SEC) by a final score of 63-57. Had it not been for much-needed second-half performances from Antonio Reeves, Reed Sheppard, and Tre Mitchell, the Wildcats surely would have lost this game. Those three combined to score 34 of UK’s 39 points after halftime.

Reeves led all scorers with 24 points on 9-20 shooting (4-8 3PT). It wasn’t quite up to par with his career-high 37 points last season in Fayetteville, but it was enough tonight. Sheppard finished with 14 points, four rebounds, five assists, and four steals while Mitchell chipped in a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double.

As a team, Kentucky shot a low 36.5 percent overall (43.8 percent in the second half), but did go 9-20 mark from long range. The Wildcats turned the ball over just nine times. Arkansas finished with a 33.3 field goal percentage including a 4-19 clip from deep.

For starters, it was an eventful pregame. On Kentucky’s side, Adou Thiero was ruled available for the first time since Dec. 21, while Rob Dillingham was ruled out due to sickness. Additionally, Justin Edwards suffered a knee injury on Friday that moved him to the bench for the first time all season.

On Arkansas’ bench, leading scorer Tramon Mark was made available shortly before tipoff, although leading rebounder Trevon Brazile, dealing with an injury, was not as fortunate. In a shocking bit of news, Davonte Davis was reported to have “stepped away” from the team. This all happened before the ball was even tipped. It should have been a sign of things to come.

Basketball doesn’t get much uglier than what we saw in the first half of this one. Both teams shot 29 percent from the field and were a combined 2-19 from deep in the opening 20 minutes. Kentucky started the night shooting 4-22 overall, but Arkansas was equally as inefficient.

The only Wildcat who could get anything going was Reeves, who dropped in 10 points on 4-10 shooting in the first half. DJ Wagner (six points), Mitchell (four), and Ugonna Onyenso (four) were the only other Kentucky players to score. Sheppard was 0-5 from the field. Kentucky was 5-13 on layups and dunks.

At the break, UK only trailed 26-24 — a sigh of relief all things considered. However, this marked the first time in the John Calipari era that a Kentucky team has scored 25 or fewer points in the first half of consecutive games. The Wildcats posted 25 points in the loss to South Carolina on Tuesday.

Things wouldn’t start any better for Kentucky out of the locker room. Arkansas even pushed its lead to six at the first media timeout, but Sheppard decided it was time to wake up. Following a Reeves’ triple, Sheppard connected on back-to-back shots at the rim that gave UK its first lead of the game, 38-37, at the 12:54 mark.

Kentucky continued to lean on Reeves and Sheppard the rest of the way, with the latter even assuming point guard duties. Another timely three-pointer from Reeves pushed the ‘Cats ahead by four, 50-46, with just five minutes to go. He didn’t stop there, drilling one more with under three minutes left that again made it a four-point UK advantage.

The Wildcats were able to deliver the final blow from there. First, it was a Wagner fastbreak layup, quickly followed by a Sheppard three. Just like that, Kentucky led 61-52 with a little over 60 seconds on the clock. Ball game. UK barely survived, but a win is a win, especially on the road.

Up next: Kentucky will head back to Rupp Arena for a home game against Florida on Wednesday, Jan. 31. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.