Tennessee Volunteers vs Kentucky Wildcats Match Player Stats On Mar 03, 2020

Junior John Fulkerson scored a career-high 27 points, leading Tennessee to an 81-73 win over sixth-ranked Kentucky on Tuesday night in Lexington, Ky.

The Volunteers (17-13, 9-8 Southeastern Conference) also got 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists from Josiah-Jordan James. Yves Pons added 15 points, and Jordan Bowden scored 11.

Freshman Tyrese Maxey led the Wildcats (24-6, 14-3) with 21 points. Immanuel Quickley added 15 points for Kentucky. Nick Richards contributed 12 points and nine rebounds, and Ashton Hagans scored 11 points.

The Wildcats, who had their eight-game win streak snapped after blowing a 17-point, second-half lead, have already clinched their 49th SEC title.

Fulkerson, a 6-foot-9 forward, added six rebounds and two assists for Tennessee. He made 10 of 15 shots from the floor and was 7-for-7 from the foul line.

Despite his effectiveness, he took some punishment, especially from Richards, who accidentally elbowed him in the face twice on one play.

It was Senior Night for the Wildcats, who have only one such player, Nate Sestina, a graduate transfer from Bucknell. Sestina finished with two points -- a rousing tip-in dunk at the first-half buzzer.

Tennessee led for just 29 seconds in the first half, at 9-7. Kentucky took control after that, leading by as many as 13 points before settling for a 42-31 advantage at the break. Both teams shot exceptionally well in the first half -- 55.2 percent by the Wildcats and 56.5 percent by the Volunteers.

Fulkerson put up 15 first-half points for Tennessee while Maxey had 14 for Kentucky.

"Fulkerson is killing us," Kentucky coach John Calipari said in a halftime interview with the SEC Network. "He outran us twice, which is an effort thing ... fighting near the basket. It seems like he is scoring at will. We have to figure that out."

Kentucky stretched its lead to 48-31 with 17:30 left in the second half. But Tennessee rallied, surging on top 61-60 on James' 3-pointer with 6:49 remaining.

Tennessee held on from there as Calipari fell to 161-6 at home against unranked teams.

For the game, Tennessee shot 52.8 percent from the floor and finished with a 31-26 edge in rebounds. Kentucky shot just 44.6 percent.

--Field Level Media