KNOXVILLE - It wasn't a lack of effort that doomed the Tennessee Volunteers in their latest Southeastern Conference basketball matchup with rival Kentucky.
It was more like a lack of talent.
Tennessee played the way it needed to Saturday afternoon to be competitive with the 15th-ranked Wildcats. The Vols hustled to loose balls, grabbing five more offensive rebounds than the visitors. They outscored Kentucky 19-8 in second-chance points. They turned the ball over only eight times, just two more than their season best.
Yet it was the Wildcats who came out on top 77-64 in front of 21,232 at Thompson-Boling Arena, despite the best efforts of Tennessee - both the team and the crowd, whose volume hit massive decibels at times. The loudest moment might have been when freshman guard Santiago Vescovi, after scrambling to get a loose ball, hit a 3-pointer from 30 feet with the shot clock winding down and cut Kentucky's lead to 51-47 with 9:16 to play.
Tennessee (13-10, 5-5) defended the way it wanted to for much of the game, but even when the Vols shut down possessions, Kentucky guards Ashton Hagans, Tyrese Maxey and Immanuel Quickley found ways to penetrate and score back-breaking baskets. When the Vols got Kentucky's big men in foul trouble - junior John Fulkerson drew 10 fouls on the Wildcats in the first half alone - freshman reserve Johnny Juzang came off the bench and made all six of his shots (four field goals - three of them 3-pointers - and two free throws) for 13 points.
"In the first half, we did what we wanted to do by trying to get their front line in some foul trouble," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. "We just couldn't stop them in some late-game situations when I thought we defended them pretty well. When they put their head down and started driving and made some tough shots at the rim, they're capable of doing that. We knew that that would be something that we'd have a hard time dealing with.
"Then we get behind a little bit. We started hurrying up. We had some looks at it that we'd like to make, but they didn't go down, and it can get away from you quickly. I thought our guys fought. I really do, and I appreciate their effort."
Vescovi's 18 points matched his high through 11 games at Tennessee. Fulkerson and Jordan Bowden each added 16 points, with Bowden grabbing a team-best nine rebounds, and Yves Pons scored nine points and blocked four shots.
Kentucky (18-5, 8-2), which extended its lead in the series to 156-73, will try to complete a regular-season sweep when it hosts the Vols on March 3.
SATURDAY'S STAR
Hagans, Maxey and Quickley were the difference in Saturday's game. Tennessee's backcourt had things working the way it wanted to early, getting Kentucky's interior players in foul trouble and forcing the Wildcats to dip into their already thin bench. However, Kentucky's backcourt trio combined for 18 points in the first half and 43 in the game, led by 18 from Quickley. And it wasn't just that those three made shots; it was when they made them, consistently getting into the lane for baskets with the shot clock winding down.
STANDOUT STAT
Juzang had averaged just 2.3 points per game - with a high of six - and was shooting 20% from 3-point range entering Saturday, but against the Vols he eclipsed his previous best for points by halftime.
TURNING POINT
The Vols had done everything they could to stay within striking distance of the Wildcats. A Vescovi 3-pointer had cut Kentucky's lead to 66-61 with 3:14 to play, and Jalen Johnson blocked a Quickley shot on the ensuing possession, with Bowden grabbing the loose ball - but then the 6-foot-5 senior missed an open look from 3-point range. The rebound was corralled by Hagans, and Johnson fouled Nick Richards on the next possession. Richards knocked down consecutive free throws, Pons missed a 3-point shot after that and Quickley made a 3 to put the game away.
WHAT IT MEANS
This was an encouraging performance for the Vols, but one they'll definitely need to build on. The same was said after a narrow loss at Kansas on Jan. 26, but they followed that with a disappointing performance in a home loss to Texas A&M. With eight regular-season games left, the Vols need to string together some solid performances. If they build off Saturday's loss and maintain their effort, there will be some wins ahead.
UP NEXT
The Vols host Arkansas (16-7, 4-6) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in a game that will be televised by the SEC Network. The Razorbacks, who battled Missouri before losing 83-79 in overtime Saturday, are led by guard Mason Jones. His 20.7 points per game was best in the SEC entering the day.
QUOTABLE
Barnes on having only Fulkerson and Pons as consistent options: "It is hard. It's really hard not knowing from night to night. Some of that is being new. Santiago is a phenomenal story. When you think about what that kid has done, it is amazing. We have two guys that we are playing with who were not on our eligible roster when the season started. They are trying to work in there. What he has done is really phenomenal. He's not in the kind of shape that you would have expected him to be in. For him to continue to work to keep himself in shape - he is the guy that you go back and look at where he started, before today he was like 28 assists and eight or nine turnovers. That is an amazing turnaround for him to be able to do that. He is a guy that is figuring it out. We would've liked to have (injured freshman Josiah-Jordan James) out there. He helps us out in a game like this with rebounding, if nothing else. It's difficult, but the good thing is we are getting to develop some of these guys, and we have to continue to do that while we try to win games and we have to continue to do that because I think this group of guys has a lot left in them and we can get a lot better."
Kentucky coach John Calipari on getting his first win against Barnes at Thompson-Boling Arena in his fifth try: "You know, they kind of told me we haven't done well up here - I don't go team by team and coach by coach - but this is a hard environment, this is a tough place to play, and Rick's teams are not going to give you the game, you've got to take it. They're not going to do stuff to cost them a game, you're going to have to take the game in this building and that may mean making two outrageous 3s. That may mean lock them down and go rebound balls, which is hard to do against them. They're one of the best rebounding teams in the country. We've had four ridiculous environments like this four weekends in a row - Arkansas, Texas Tech, Auburn - and I'm still alive."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.