NASHVILLE TENN. — In the rubber match between Kentucky and Vanderbilt, the Commodores got the best of the Wildcats 80-73, eliminating the Cats in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Kentucky will now return to Lexington to await news on its future; the NCAA Tournament bracket will be revealed this Sunday evening.
Kentucky shot 42 percent from the field, 24 percent from deep and 55 percent from the free-throw line. Alternatively, Vanderbilt finished shooting 49 percent from the field, 40 percent from deep (10-25) and 90 percent from the charity stripe.
Although Oscar Tshiebwe put the Cats on the board first, it was Antonio Reeves who got hot in a hurry. He finished his first SEC Tournament game with 22 points in 35 minutes before fouling out near the end of the game. Tshiebwe and Jacob Toppin both finished with double-doubles: for Oscar, it was 19 points and 15 rebounds, while Toppin added 21 points and 11 boards.
Vanderbilt point guard Ezra Manjon cooked the Cats all night, putting up 25 points, while familiar foes Jordan Wright and Tyrin Lawrence had 18 apiece.
Every time it looked as though Kentucky may run away with it in the first half, the Commodores hit a perfectly-timed shot to swap the momentum. Once, it was a three-pointer at the end of the shot clock. Then, it was a quick layup in transition while the Cats were left scrambling. Each time, it kept Vanderbilt in the thick of things.
After leading by as many as 10 (14-4 off of consecutive Antonio Reeves three-pointers), the Commodores tied things up at 34-all as the first half began to draw to a close. Then, everything that could go wrong for the Cats seemed to do just that. Tshiebwe was given a flagrant one foul for his physicality in the paint. Vanderbilt's Colin Smith sank both resulting free throws, and then Jordan Wright sank one more triple - his second of the half - as time expired.
The sequence resulted in a 12-0 Vanderbilt run. While the Cats fell into a scoring drought for the final 3:04 of the half, the Commodores scored on four of their final five shot attempts. Vanderbilt went to the locker room with a 39-34 lead. The Cats never recovered.
Vanderbilt kept momentum on its side to start the second half, jumping out on a 6-2 run. Both teams continued to trade buckets for the majority of the half, but Kentucky couldn't stack together enough defensive stops to get back on top. The Cats got within four points with a minute and a half to play in the game, but another Vandy shot at the shot-clock buzzer, a Kentucky turnover, and a foul on Toppin put the Commodores up 77-69.
The Cats struggled at the charity stripe to end the game, finishing 11-20 for 55 percent on the night.
John Calipari and the team will speak with the media shortly following the loss. Stay with LEX 18 News and BBN Tonight for the latest.
