Kentucky basketball: Wildcats win 2018 SEC Championship over Vols
By Drew Koch
The Kentucky basketball team started off March Madness with a bang. The Wildcats won 3 games in 3 days, capped off by a 77-72 win over Tennessee. The Cats won the SEC Tournament Championship for the 4th straight season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a team-high 29 points, and the Kentucky basketball team won their 4th straight SEC Tournament Championship. Gilgeous-Alexander won the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and walked out of the Scottrade Center with the nylon draped around his neck.
The Wildcats were dominant early. Gilgeous-Alexander and Kevin Knox both knocked down triples to give UK an early 6-3 lead. SGA banked in a three-pointer early in the first half to extend the Cats lead to 12. Kentucky grew their first half lead to as much as 17 after Quade Green made a pull-up jumper with just under 5 minutes left in the first half.
Tennessee stormed back with an 16-3 run to close the half. Kentucky’s lead was cut from 17 to 5 at halftime. Heading into the locker room, the Kentucky basketball team led the Tennessee Volunteers 36-31.
The Vols took the lead early in the second half when Admiral Schofield hit a three, and Tennessee led at that point 41-38. UK drew back in front by as many as 9 after Green converted on 2 free throws and Knox put in a lay up courtesy of a PJ Washington steal. But, the Vols just wouldn’t go away.
Tennessee went on another big run. The Vols outscored the Cats 14-3 midway through the second half and took a 57-55 lead. The Cats then went inside to Washington and he converted his free throws to put the Wildcats back on top. A back-and-forth, see-saw battle down the stretch, found UK up by 2 with the ball.
The Wildcats were up 64-62 when Gilgeous-Alexander dished the ball to Wenyen Gabriel in the corner. Gabriel’s shot rimmed out, but Sacha Killeya-Jones, with the play of the game, grabbed the offensive board and slammed the ball back for 2 points.
Kentucky never relinquished the lead for the remainder of the game. Gilgeous-Alexander put through two free throws with two seconds left on the clock to seal the victory for the Kentucky basketball team. The win gave UK 4 straight SEC Tournament titles, and their 31st in school history.