FINAL: Kentucky runs out of gas late, falls 96-83 to No. 4 Alabama on the road

Kentucky came out of the gates red-hot, but Alabama’s offensive firepower was too much to handle.

On Saturday in Tuscaloosa, the No. 17 Wildcats (18-9; 7-7 SEC) ran out of gas down the stretch in a 96-83 loss to the No. 4 Crimson Tide (22-5; 11-3 SEC). Kentucky had four players finish in double-figures, led by 20 points from Koby Brea, but Mark Sears poured in 30 points for the Tide. There were 42 fouls called in this game as both Otega Oweh and Collin Chandler fouled out for UK.

Without Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson for the second straight game, Kentucky struggled to play high-level ball for a full 40 minutes — a requirement to beat a team as talented as Alabama. But Andrew Carr at least played his best game in months, finishing with 17 points and six rebounds. Amari Williams contributed 17 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. Travis Perry finished with a season-high 12 points.

Kentucky shot the ball well, going 42.6 percent from the field and 9-26 (34.6 percent) from deep, but Alabama was even better: 52.5 percent from the floor and 11-31 (35.5 percent) from beyond the arc. A 23-6 advantage for Alabama in transition points was key. The Tide also scored points off turnovers (24-11) despite recording more turnovers than the ‘Cats.

Kentucky couldn’t have asked for a better start against the road atmosphere. The shots were falling early as the ‘Cats made four of its first six three-pointers. Carr hit two deep ones early, his first time since Jan. 4 making a pair of threes in a single game. Perry, who started his third straight game, got in on the action too with his own triple. At one point in the first five minutes, Kentucky made seven of eight shots. The UK lead was double-digits midway through the half. Brea was up to a trio of three-pointers, as well.

But then Alabama found its offensive groove. A demoralizing 15-2 run over a four-minute span put the Tide in front 33-32 for the first time all night. Kentucky’s once-hot offense was going cold while Alabama, fueled by 15 points from Sears, continued to cook. The Tide’s run extended to 24-4 before UK settled back in. Kentucky had a chance to potentially tie the game at half, but Alabama finished strong to take a 47-40 lead into the break.

Sears and Aden Halloway combined to score 27 of Alabama’s points. Brea and Carr combined for 21 points on the other end, but most of that came in the first five minutes. A 13-4 advantage in fastbreak points for the Tide on top of a 4-9 mark from the free throw line for Kentucky was the difference through 20 minutes.

There was plenty of fight left in these ‘Cats though, but foul trouble soon became an issue. After Alabama went ahead by 11 points early in the second half, Kentucky responded by cutting it to a three-point game. But getting the score any closer proved to be a challenge, especially with Oweh battling four personal fouls.

Going into the 8-minute media timeout, Alabama controlled a 72-66 lead. To make matters worse, Oweh fouled out with 6:49 to go, ending his streak of scoring in double-digits every game this season. He finished with two points on 1-9 shooting. The Tide would extend its lead to 12 points from there as the game began to slip away from the ‘Cats.

Kentucky simply ran out of juice down the stretch as Alabama’s offense was too much to overcome.