Vols flip script in Lexington, knock off Wildcats
The narrative surrounding Tennessee basketball during SEC play was flipped onto its head on Tuesday night in Lexington.
After a solid start in non-conference play, the Vols became synonymous with surrendering double-digit leads in the second half. They blew a 17-point lead at Auburn and nearly gave up a 19-point advantage at home against Florida.
Not this time.
Behind a career-high 27 points from John Fulkerson, 16 points and 7 rebounds from Josiah-Jordan James and a 15-point performance courtesy of Yves Pons, Tennessee was able to fight back and stun Kentucky at home, 81-73.
Senior guard Jordan Bowden added 11 points and five assists while passing Admiral Schofield for seventh place on UT's all-time list for 3-pointers made.
Tyrese Maxey led the Wildcats with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting.
What looked to be an early Kentucky (24-6, 14-3 SEC) blowout quickly turned in the Vols' favor at the start of the second half. No matter the size of the gap, UT's young group remained calm and collected.
"Our guys were confident," head coach Rick Barnes said. "Even when we were down, and I would walk into the timeout, they were talking to each other about 'Hey we just can't keep making those turnovers and mistakes that we're making.'"
Luckily for Tennessee (17-13, 9-8 SEC), those mistakes did not continue to happen.
As the second half progressed, the Wildcats appeared helpless at stopping UT's surge. James, who had been held scoreless in the first half, erupted for all 16 of his points over the final 20 minutes.
Pons also delivered an explosive performance during that span, logging 12 of his 15 points down the stretch.
It wasn't the first time Tennessee overcame a large deficit against Kentucky during the Barnes era, either. It also won't be the last time that Barnes and Calipari run into each other again.
To some, UT's uphill battle in one of college basketball's most raucous environments may have been too much to handle. For Tennessee's leading man in Fulkerson, however, the Vols' drive to win was just too much for the opposition to overcome.
"What we've been talking about is doing whatever it takes to win," Fulkerson said. "And Jordan Bone once said, 'We never want to walk off the court and say that the other team wanted it more than us.' So, every time we leave the court, we want to want it more than them."
The Vols will be back in action for their regular season finale against No. 17 Auburn on Saturday at noon ET on ESPN.
