Tennessee Volunteers vs Kentucky Wildcats Box Score on Feb 18, 2023

Cason Wallace collected 16 points, six rebounds and six assists and Oscar Tshiebwe had 16 points and seven boards, lifting host Kentucky to a 66-54 win over No. 10 Tennessee on Saturday in Lexington, Ky.

Behind an overwhelming defense effort in the opening half, the Wildcats (18-9, 9-5 Southeastern Conference) trotted to the locker room with a commanding 20-point lead.

The Volunteers (20-7, 9-5) got as close as eight in the second half but lost for the third time in four games.

The Wildcats' Chris Livingston had 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, and Jacob Toppin scored 11 points.

Kentucky moved into a tie for third place in the SEC with the season sweep of its border rival to the south. It won on the road over then-No. 5 Tennessee 63-56 on Jan. 14.

The two victories gave the Wildcats their first regular-season sweep of the Volunteers since the 2011-12 campaign.

Tennessee's Santiago Vescovi scored all of his team-high 17 points in the second half, and Jahmai Mashack added a season-high 16 points and eight rebounds. However, the Volunteers were just 4 of 14 (28.6 percent) from the foul line.

In the 237th meeting between the schools in a series that dates back to 1910, neither side could generate much offense early or get deep into the paint. Kentucky led 4-2 after five minutes as the Volunteers missed 8 of 9 shots.

Tshiebwe's conventional 3-point point play on a drive, dunk and free throw pushed the home side's lead to 22-10. Daimion Collins' two foul shots with four second left capped an 8-0 run and gave the Wildcats their biggest first-half lead at 18 points.

In a dominant display of defense and rebounding over 20 minutes as it led 39-19, Kentucky held the visitors to 7 of 27 shooting (25.9 percent) and just 1 for 13 (7.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

The Wildcats got 12 points from Wallace and held a 22-14 edge on the boards, with Tshiebwe and Livingston each collecting five rebounds.

To start the second half, Vescovi netted five points to key a 7-0 Tennessee run. Olivier Nkamhoua's layup at 7:25 made it 62-54 at 2:09, but the Wildcats held on to go to 13-3 on their home court.

--Field Level Media