Kentucky flipped the script on its recent history in the Champions Classic.

The Wildcats entered Tuesday's matchup with No. 6 Duke having lost six of their last seven trips to the event, often coming up just short with a young team facing an older, battle-tested squad early in the season.

This time, it was No. 19 Kentucky that had experience and savvy on its side as Mark Pope's revamped roster of transfer portal veterans fought back from a nine-point halftime deficit to defeat Duke's star-studded, freshman-dominated team 77-72 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

“Give Kentucky credit for the plays they made,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “I think they showed incredible maturity and their experience came out in the second half, no question.”

"If we had lost this game, I would still like this group," said Pope, whose team trailed 46-37 at halftime and did not look comfortable on either end of the floor. "I've been blessed to coach incredible young men. Incredibly blessed. This group is special, and they've been that way before we ever played a game."

Kentucky (3-0) was led by grad senior forward Andrew Carr with 17 points and junior guard Otega Oweh with 15, but the Cats got timely contributions from just about everyone who appeared in the game.

"Unbelievable game," Carr said. "A true team effort... We did an unbelievable job of being resilient tonight."

Grad senior center Amari Williams chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds to go along with a key defensive play in the final 10 seconds. Grad senior point guard Lamont Butler added nine points, four assists, and his typical strong on-ball defense to spark a big turnaround in the second half.

"Lamont is the foundation of this team," Pope said. "... He is a WIN-NER."

After Duke shot 48.6% in the first half and committed only one turnover, Kentucky held the Blue Devils to 29.4% and forced six turnovers in the second half.

When the dust settled, UK finished with a 40% to 39% shooting advantage. The Cats also knocked down 10 3-pointers while holding the Blue Devils to just four.

Duke (2-1) was led by freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, considered to be a potential No. 1 pick in next year's NBA Draft, with a game-high 26 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman wing Kon Knueppel added 14 points, but struggled to a 5-for-20 shooting night from the field and made only one of his eight shots from the arc.

*****

In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory...

KEY MOMENT:

After Kentucky methodically chipped away at Duke's 46-37 halftime lead, it came down to whoever made plays under pressure in the final three minutes. There were several heroes for the Cats. Otega Oweh had a steal and runout basket with 2:40 remaining to give UK its first lead, 69-67, since early in the game. The Blue Devils briefly reclaimed the advantage, but a three-point play by Andrew Carr at the 1:49 mark swung momentum back to the Cats. Duke tied the game once again at 72 and had a chance to take the lead, but Oweh came up with his second big steal with 12 seconds left, stripping Cooper Flagg and racing the other direction for a pair of free throws to make it 74-72. Duke's final chance ended with five seconds left as Flagg was forced to dribble out of bounds on the baseline by UK center Amari Williams. The Cats iced the victory with three free throws by Lamont Butler and Oweh.

GAME BALL:

Otega Oweh, Kentucky -- Lots of good candidates for this honor, but the Oklahoma transfer seemed to be in the middle of the action at just about every key moment in the game. His strip steal of Duke star Cooper Flagg with 12 seconds remaining and runout for a pair of free throws giving UK a 74-72 lead may have been the biggest play of the night.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1 - Point scored by Kentucky's Jaxson Robinson, who is widely viewed as the Wildcats' top player entering the season.

2nd - Kentucky team to open the season with three straight games making 10 or more 3-pointers, joining the 1990-91 squad.

6-8 - The Cats improved record in the Champions Classic, snapping a four-game losing streak in the event.

13-11 - Kentucky's lead in the all-time series against Duke.

+24 - The Cats' advantage from the 3-point arc, knocking down 10 treys to four by Duke.

25-6 - Bench-scoring advantage for UK.

26 - Points allowed by UK in the second half was the lowest against a Top 10 opponent since holding No. 6 Texas to 25 points on Dec. 5, 2014.

QUOTABLE:

"It was an incredible atmosphere. It's called 'Catlanta' for a reason." -- UK forward Andrew Carr

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at Rupp Arena against Lipscomb. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET.