NASHVILLE – Kentucky rallied from a double-digit, first-half deficit Friday afternoon to beat Alabama, 73-67, in a Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinal game at Bridgestone Arena.
Kentucky (30-2) advanced to play the winner of today’s Ole Miss-Tennessee game in a Saturday semifinal, while Alabama’s season might have ended at 17-15.
Alabama attacked the Wildcats after a stagnant opening by each side, and the Tide had an 11-point lead midway through the first half. Darnell Dodson checked in late in the half at drilled a 3 in the closing seconds to get Kentucky within 35-30 at the break, though.
The Wildcats drew two quick charges and scored two quick buckets to pull within 35-34 after the break, but freshman Tony Mitchell scored twice on a spurt that promptly pushed Bama’s lead out to 40-34 – and forced a timeout from frustrated Kentucky coach John Calipari.
Freshman point guards John Wall and Eric Bledsoe responded after the timeout, igniting a quick flurry that gave the Wildcats a 45-42 lead with 13:21 left. Wall scored the first seven points of that 9-0 run, and Bledsoe added a driving layup.
Two Wall free throws bumped UK’s lead to 51-45, and Bledsoe drove to the rim and scored to make it 53-45 with 10:11 left. Wall slammed home a Bledsoe miss on the Wildcats’ next possession, giving them a 55-45 lead.
Alabama didn’t fade away at that point, though, despite basically playing in a tough, road-game environment. The Tide got to the rim on three consecutive possessions and cut the gap to 55-51.
The Tide hung around at cut their deficit to 63-57 on a 3 from reserve guard Anthony Brock with 5:30 left, and Torrance hit a tough, left-handed layup to make it 64-61 with 2:58 left. Wall countered with another big play, though. His lob pass to Patrick Patterson bumped UK’s edge to 66-61.
Two Torrance free throws got Bama back within a possession at 66-63 with 1:44 left. Patterson slammed seconds later to make it 68-63, though, and Alabama turned it over with 1:17 left.
Wall went 5-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final minute, helping UK seal its semifinal berth.
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