Kentucky fights to 33-29 halftime lead in Knoxville
Ah, a defensive rock fight in Knoxville. Just as everybody expected, certainly with Kentucky digging its heels in as the enforcer at the midway point.
With both teams throwing early punches to open the game, it was the Wildcats landing the biggest ones down the stretch to take a 33-29 lead at halftime. Coming in as heavy underdogs, UK shot just 38.2% overall, but 40% from three while holding UT to 25% shooting and 30.8% from three. And they did it while losing the foul battle a ridiculous 11-6 — five different Cats earned two fouls — with a 13-2 free-throw difference.
Individually, Justin Edwards leads Kentucky with 13 points on 5-7 shooting and 3-4 from three, followed by Antonio Reeves with 11 and Reed Sheppard with five points, four assists and three rebounds. As expected, Dalton Knecht has managed 19 first-half points on 5-12 shooting and 3-6 from three — the only multi-bucket scorer for the Vols early.
Defense has been strong for the road team, limiting the home favorites to just 3-11 around the basket and just .906 points per possession.
Take a look at the complete box score:
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