Shaking off its worst first-half offensive showing of the season, Kentucky found its familiar shooting stroke in the second half of Saturday's game at Arkansas.
The No. 6 Wildcats leaned on their much-maligned defense to hang in the game long enough to knock down seven of 11 shots from the 3-point arc in the second half of a 63-57 win at Bud Walton Arena.
Kentucky (15-4, 5-2 SEC) missed 15 of the first 16 shots it attempted in the first half and fell behind by as many as 10 points. But the Cats trimmed the deficit to two at the half and got into a much better rhythm in the second half.
"We did a couple of wrinkles (in the second half) offensively," UK head coach John Calipari said, "because, one, this team is smart. I can say we're going to play, if we don't get something, this is how we're going to play it to finish, even though we haven't work on it.
"The other thing was, I wanted them to keep playing fast. I looked at DJ (Wagner) walking the ball up one time and said I'm going to take you out if you're not flying up the court."
Leading 42-41 with 10:21 remaining, Kentucky went on an extended 19-11 run to take control of the game. The key stretch featured two 3-pointers from Tre Mitchell, two from Antonio Reeves, and one from Reed Sheppard -- all coming from the left side of the court -- to take a 61-52 lead with 1:27 to go.
The Razorbacks managed only one bucket over the final 2:54, a layup that UK conceded with one second remaining.
Arkansas (10-10, 1-6 SEC) shot just 33% from the field (20 of 60) and went 4-for-19 from the 3-point arc. Kentucky's league opponents had entered the game making 45% of their shots from the field, 34% from deep, and were averaging 85 points against the Cats.
"They were prideful," Calipari said of the defensive effort. "... (Antonio Reeves) was unbelievable on Mark."
The Razorbacks' Travon Mark was held to just 11 points on 5-of-17 shooting and an 0-for-4 night from the arc. He entered the matchup shooting 53% and ranked fifth among the SEC scoring leaders at 17.8 points per game.
Reeves was also good on the offensive end, where he led Kentucky with a game-high 24 points. Freshman guard Reed Sheppard followed with 14 points -- all coming in the second half after an 0-for-5 start -- and Tre Mitchell added his forth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Cats shot only 37% on the night, but that was after a 3-for-21 start. They finished 9-of-20 from the 3-point arc.
Ugonna Onyenso, a sophomore center, contributed six points, four rebounds, and three blocked shots off the bench, earning praise from Calipari.
"I'm so happy for Ugo and how he performed," the UK boss said. "... He was the difference in the game, and everybody on our team knows it."
*****
In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory...
KEY MOMENT:
Clinging to a one-point lead with under three minutes to play, Kentucky got a 3-pointer from the left wing by Antonio Reeves, a transition runout by DJ Wagner off a Reed Sheppard steal, and a 3 from the left wing by Sheppard to all but ice it at 61-52 with 1:27 to go.
GAME BALL:
Antonio Reeves, Kentucky -- The must be something about Bud Walton Arena that brings out the best in the Cats' senior guard. After scoring 37 points there last season, Reeves torched the Razorbacks for a game-high 24 tonight. He's gone 6-of-12 from the 3-point arc and 13-of-14 from the free-throw line in those two wins over UK's long-standing hoops rival. He became the first player in Kentucky history to score more than 24 points twice at Arkansas.
BY THE NUMBERS:
0 - Games in which Kentucky has played with its full roster this season. Sophomore swingman Adou Thiero returned from injury on Saturday, but freshman guard Rob Dillingham missed the game with a stomach issue.
1st - Time UK has scored 25 points or less in the first half of back-to-back games since Jan. 7 and Jan. 10 of 2006.
8 - Steals by the Wildcats, including four by Reed Sheppard.
14-4-5-4 - Points, rebounds, assists, and steals by UK's Reed Sheppard.
35-14 - Kentucky's lead in the all-time series with Arkansas.The Cats improved to 11-8 in games played in Fayetteville.
44-39 - Arkansas rebounding advantage, including a game-high 13 from big man Makhi Mitchell. He also scored a team-high 12 points for the Razorbacks.
QUOTABLE:
"I thought Adou (Thiero) played pretty well, he just couldn't make a basket." -- UK head coach John Calipari on the sophomore wing's return to action after missing the last seven games with an injury. He grabbed six rebounds and blocked a shot in 12 minutes of action but went 0-for-5 from the field.
UP NEXT:
Kentucky returns to action on Wednesday night at Rupp Arena against Florida in an 8 p.m. ET tipoff on ESPN. It's a rematch of the Cats' 87-85 win over the Gators on Jan. 6 in Gainesville. Florida (14-6, 4-3 SEC) defeated Georgia 102-98 in overtime on Saturday in Gainesville.
