Freshman guard Tyler Herro scored a season-best 29 points on 9-of-10 shooting to help No. 4 Kentucky rally for a 70-66 victory over Arkansas on Tuesday night in Southeastern Conference play at Lexington, Ky.
Freshman guard Keldon Johnson added 13 points for the Wildcats (24-4, 13-2 SEC), who won their fourth straight game and 14th in their past 15. Sophomore forward Nick Richards collected 15 rebounds as Kentucky recovered from a 15-point, second-half deficit.
Freshman guard Isaiah Joe scored 16 of his 19 points in the first half for Arkansas (14-14, 5-10), which dropped its sixth straight game. Freshman guard Desi Sills tallied 15 points, and sophomore center Daniel Gafford added 14 points and eight rebounds.
The Razorbacks have lost seven straight games to the Wildcats.
Arkansas trailed 65-62 after Gafford's put-back with 58.6 seconds left, and later moved within 66-65 on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Mason with nine seconds left.
Herro made two free throws with 5.4 seconds left to make it a three-point margin. The Wildcats elected to foul sophomore guard Jalen Harris, who made the first free throw but failed to hit the rim while trying to intentionally miss the second, giving the ball to Kentucky.
Freshman point guard Immanuel Quickley made two free throws with 1.3 seconds left to seal it for the Wildcats, who are tied for first place in the SEC with LSU.
Kentucky overcame 15 turnovers by holding a 40-27 rebounding advantage and shooting 50 percent from the field, including 6 of 13 from 3-point range. The Wildcats played without senior forward Reid Travis (ankle) for the second straight game.
The Razorbacks shot just 37.7 percent from the field and were 10 of 20 from behind the arc. Arkansas committed just seven turnovers.
The Razorbacks received two 3-pointers from Sills in the first 98 seconds of the second half to stretch the lead to 45-30.
Kentucky responded with a 12-3 push. Herro scored eight points during the burst and connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to pull the Wildcats within 48-42 with 13:34 left.
Jones drained a 3-pointer 27 seconds later before the Wildcats rattled off 12 points in a row. Sophomore forward PJ Washington scored the hoop to knot it at 51 with 8:15 left, and Herro buried the go-ahead 3-pointer with 7:07 to go.
--Field Level Media
Arkansas | Kentucky | |
Isaiah Joe 19 | Scoring | Tyler Herro 29 |
Gabe Osabuohien 4 | Assists | Ashton Hagans 4 |
Daniel Gafford 8 | Rebounds | Nick Richards 15 |
Desi Sills 4 | Free Throws Made | Tyler Herro 6 |
Keyshawn Embery-Simpson 2 | Steals | Tyler Herro 2 |
Daniel Gafford 2 | Blocks | Nick Richards 3 |