(WKYT) – After blowing a 16-point lead, Kentucky clutched up in the final two minutes, outscoring the Tigers 9-2, winning the game 78-72 and advancing to the SEC quarterfinals.
Otega Oweh led the way with 21 points. Denzel Aberdeen followed with 16 points and seven assists. Collin Chandler followed with 15 points on 5-6 shooting.
For Missouri, Mark Mitchell finished with 32 points and seven rebounds.
Missouri broke the scoreboard open first with a three pointer before Aberdeen responded with his own. On the defensive end, Collin Chandler followed that up with a steal and soft dunk to take a 5-3 lead.
Kentucky (21-12) started the game a lot better defensively than it did against LSU, Missouri had four turnovers in the first five minutes and Kentucky was able to make the most of its defensive effort, going on a 7-0 run, doubling up the Tigers 14-7 and forcing a timeout.
Dennis Gates got his squad together during the short break because the Tigers responded with a 9-2 run to tie it up at 16.
Missouri got in foul trouble which forced it to put a smaller lineup on the court, allowing Kentucky’s size to dictate the boards and work around the block.
After Missouri tied it up at 20, Kentucky went on a 15-4 run over a five minute span with Malachi Moreno and Andrija Jelavic using their size to their advantage and taking over the game.
Kentucky took a 38-29 lead into the break. The Cats scored 26 of their 38 first half points in the paint.
Kentucky kept the pressure on in the second half, the Cats started the final 20 minutes on a 7-2 run to take a 14 point lead.
The Tigers were able to climb back in it when its bigs were able to get back on the court. Missouri scored 20 of its first 28 points in the paint to bring it to a one possession game.
At the 6:30 mark, Brandon Garrison picked up his 4th foul which meant both Kentucky big men, Malachi Moreno and Garrison, had four fouls.
UK got two much needed buckets, a three from Chandler followed by a jumper from Oweh to put UK back up by seven.
Missouri hit back to back threes to make it a one point game with 3:50 left to go. Mitchell continued to dominate, scoring back to back buckets to give Missouri a 70-69 lead with two minutes left.
After a Kentucky timeout, it was Otega Oweh time. Oweh hit a clutch bucket on one end before causing a Tigers turnover on the other. Aberdeen would go on to hit a clutch layup with :22 seconds left to give UK a five-point lead.
The Cats close the game out and advance to the SEC Quarterfinals against (1) Florida, tomorrow afternoon at 1 on ESPN.