Vanderbilt saddled with dubious record
NO. 13 KENTUCKY 71, VANDERBILT 62
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Just as Vanderbilt was poised to take control for good, No. 13 Kentucky seized momentum and the game by getting stops and turning them into baskets.
The Wildcats ended up maintaining their roll and handed the Commodores a record they didn’t want to discuss.
Tyrese Maxey scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half, and Kentucky used a 2312 run to rally past Vanderbilt for a 71-62 victory Wednesday night that dealt the Commodores their record 25th consecutive SEC regular season loss.
Kentucky’s effort followed a subtle reminder from Coach John Calipari to take charge better than they did during a nerve-wracking first half featuring breakdowns on both ends.
“Why did you think I didn’t go crazy in the first half and I didn’t in the locker room?” Calipari said. “It’s your team. You want to lose, go ahead. I’m fine. It’s your team. If you play harder and put it on them a little bit and make them make tough plays and get back in it, you will be fine.”
The Wildcats (16-4, 6-1) trailed 40-30 early in the second half before mounting the big run over 8:45 to lead for good at 53-52 on two Immanuel Quickley free throws with 8:33 remaining. Three-point plays by Ashton Hagans, EJ Montgomery and Quickley helped the surge, and Richards added consecutive baskets for a little more breathing room.
Maxey took over from there, scoring nine of Kentucky’s next 10 points, including six consecutive to make it a seven-point cushion.
Richards had 15 points and 11 rebounds despite foul trouble that limited him to just five minutes in the first half. Hagans added 12 points, and Quickley 11 as the Wildcats won their fourth consecutive game and eighth in the last nine.
“Whether I was on the court or not, the guys would’ve stepped it up,” Richards added. “Everybody would’ve found their rhythm, everybody would’ve made shots, we’d have found a way to get back in the game.”
Meanwhile, the Commodores (8-12, 0-7) broke the SEC mark for futility it briefly shared with Sewanee, which dropped 24 in a row from 1938-40 before leaving the conference.
First-year Vanderbilt Coach Jerry Stackhouse focused more on what’s ahead for his team than the streak and record that hasn’t been discussed.
“Two weeks ago we were a different team but adversity set in,” Stackhouse said. “Two weeks ago, there was a real glaze over everybody’s eyes. Now we’re starting to see there are some things we can do.
“Our guys are fighting and learning. They are taking the approach seriously. They will get better.”
Vanderbilt also dropped its seventh in a row to Kentucky and eighth overall.
Saben Lee scored 21 points and Dylan Disu had 13 points with 11 rebounds for the Commodores, who shot 26% in the second half after hitting 52% in the first.
NO. 22 LSU 90, ALABAMA 76
BATON ROUGE — Emmitt Williams had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 22 LSU defeated Alabama for the Tigers’ ninth consecutive victory.
Skylar Mays scored 18 points for LSU (16-4, 7-0), which has won its first seven conference games for a second consecutive season and is the only SEC team unbeaten in league play.
Williams punctuated his performance with a double-pump dunk on a feed from freshman Trendon Watford to put LSU up by 15 points with about two minutes to go as the Tigers pulled away for their first victory by more than four points in seven games. Watford followed with a pair of layups to finish 17 points and a season-high 15 rebounds.
Jaden Shackelford scored 21 points for Alabama (12-8, 4-3) which saw its four-game winning streak snapped. Alex Reese had 17 points and Kira Lewis Jr. 13 for the Crimson Tide, which trailed by as many as 20 points in the first half and never got closer than nine points after that.