Vols hold off pesky Kentucky

KNOXVILLE — Kentucky was irritable on a day designated to honor just about every University of Tennessee player to pester the Wildcats.

But the scrappy bunch of ironman Wildcats ultimately fell 63-60 to the top-ranked Volunteers.

Tennessee just needs to win one of its final two games to lock up the SEC Eastern Division championship, as the Vols are now two games up on Kentucky with one week left in the regular season. UT also remained one game up on Mississippi State for the conference’s overall title, which the Vols haven’t won outright in 41 seasons.

UT’s Sunday wasn’t supposed to be so difficult. Not with UK star freshman forward Patrick Patterson (stress-fractured ankle) and sophomore guard Jodie Meeks (groin, hip) in street clothes.

“But it’s never easy against these guys,” Tennessee’s Tyler Smith said.

Kentucky (16-11, 10-4 SEC) used a time-tested underdog formula — slowing the pace, limiting turnovers and hitting clutch, shot-clock-beating jumpers — to hang with the Vols (26-3, 12-2) for a full 40 minutes.

“There may have been some who thought since Patrick Patterson didn’t play, and Kentucky was coming here, that the building and the pageantry were going to beat the Wildcats,” Vols coach Bruce Pearl said. “That just wasn’t the case.”

UT sophomore point guard Ramar Smith missed the front end of a 1-and-1 to give Kentucky one final chance, but senior guard Joe Crawford’s clean 3-point look from corner missed with about two seconds left. Senior guard Ramel Bradley corralled the rebound but couldn’t get his 3 off before the buzzer.

Bradley’s shot missed, any way, but few would have been surprised to see it drop. It was that kind of day for Kentucky. Three Wildcats played every second, and a fourth went 37 minutes.

“I do not know if I have been a part of a more courageous effort, understanding the circumstances,” UK coach Billy Gillispie said. “But regardless of that, it is still a loss.”

Tyler Smith led the Vols with 15 points, and Chris Lofton — the former Mr. Kentucky high school star — added 14 on his senior day. JaJuan Smith struggled offensively most of the day with nine points and five rebounds, but he had two big steals late in the second half.

Wayne Chism added nine points and eight rebounds, a surprisingly quiet effort given Patterson’s absence.

Pearl said Kentucky was the “most patient, slowest-paced team in the SEC” before Patterson’s injury. Without him, they stayed on a Sunday stroll, often dribbling around the perimeter for most of the 35-second shot clock before setting a late ball screen and hurrying to beat the horn.

“Kentucky, they’re so patient,” Lofton said. “They run their plays to a ‘T.’ They don’t look for anybody to be aggressive. They just run their plays.”

Several Vols couldn’t hide their disbelief during UK’s second-half surge.

“We were irritated because they were in the game,” Chism said. “We were surprised they kept hitting those shot-clock shots like that.”

Bradley and Derrick Jasper hit desperation 3-pointers to tie the game and give UK a 57-56 lead with 4:43 left, but Ramar Smith answered with a baseline slam to put the Vols back in front. Tyler Smith added a bucket before Lofton banked in a runner from just inside the free-throw line to make it 63-57 with 1:15 left.

“Coach (Pearl) made the sign for everybody to clear out, and for me to make a play,” Lofton said.

Jasper hit another trey to get UK within one possession, but neither team scored in the final minute.

“We knew they weren’t going to keep hitting those shots,” Tyler Smith said. “There was no way.”

The game started the way many thought it would, with the Vols jumping out to a 20-5 lead on the day UT legend Ernie Grunfeld’s jersey was retired. Fellow All-Americans Bernard King and Allan Houston were also in the arena, as were several of the nation’s top high school prospects.

Foul trouble sent Lofton to the bench midway through the first half, and the Vols’ 15-point lead started slipping.

“I give credit to Kentucky,” Lofton said. “Their gameplan and execution on both ends of the floor was great.”

UT was outrebounded for the first time in 10 games (33-31), and Lofton was held to five attempts from the field, doing half of his damage with a 7-for-8 effort at the free-throw line. Both teams shot better than 40 percent, but the snail’s pace only allowed them a combined 100 field goal attempts.

The Vols used more full-court press than they have all season in a failed attempt to change the tempo.

“Kentucky just made great plays,” Pearl said. “Did they make a shot without a hand in their face? Or falling down? Or from 30-plus feet? They didn’t have any easy shots.”

An emotional eight-day stretch with three rivalry games on national television has clearly taken its toll on Pearl and his players — something they don’t deny. The coach defended his tired-looking team after the game, though, saying two wins and one close loss made it “a great week for Tennessee basketball.”

“There was a lot of pressure on this team,” Pearl said. “I’m proud of my guys for getting this one. It wasn’t easy.”

UT plays at Florida on Wednesday night before hosting South Carolina in Saturday’s regular-season finale.