Field Level Media
Jan 29, 2020
Vanderbilt set an all-time Southeastern Conference record with its 25th straight loss in league regular-season play in a 71-62 defeat to No. 13 Kentucky at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., on Wednesday evening.
Kentucky guard Tyrese Maxey helped the Wildcats erase a double-digit, second-half deficit with 17 points in the contest. Guards Ashton Hagans and Immanuel Quickley added 12 and 11 each, and forward Nick Richards had 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Guards Saben Lee (21 points), Scotty Pippen Jr. (12), Max Evans (10) and forward Dylan Disu (13 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks) led the Commodores (8-12, 0-7 SEC).
Vanderbilt had shared the mark with Sewanee, which lost 24 in a row between 1938-40 before leaving the league.
Including league tournament games, Vanderbilt's losing streak against league foes is 27.
Vandy led by seven at half, and extended it to 10 -- the first time either team led by double digits -- when Lee hit a 3-pointer with 18:20 left.
Kentucky (16-4, 6-1) started to rally midway through the second half.
Forward E.J. Montgomery's offensive rebound and layup drew Disu's fourth foul and cut the lead to 47-46 with 11:54 remaining after Montgomery canned the charity toss.
The Wildcats went ahead for the first time since 8:37 in the first half when Montgomery snagged another offensive board and hit a hook shot from the right block, giving Kentucky a 51-50 lead with 9:31 remaining.
A Richards dunk off a feed made it 55-52. Maxey's 3-pointer from straight away at 5:40 tied UK's biggest advantage to that point at five, but Disu responded with a 3.
Maxey responded with a pair of foul shots and a jumper, and Kentucky led by seven with 4:02 left. Vanderbilt didn't have the firepower to close.
The Commodores, 20 1/2-point underdogs, stunned Kentucky by taking a 35-28 halftime lead as Richards -- the reigning National Player of the Week -- played just five first-half minutes due to having two fouls.
With Vanderbilt trailing by three, Disu made a terrific block of Quickley on a layup, caught it, and threw it to Lee for a layup on the other end with 9:19 left in the half.
Hagans responded with a jumper, but Disu hit a 3 with 7:31 left in the half, giving VU a two-point lead. The Commodores never trailed again in the half, and they took their biggest lead with 10 seconds left when Evans hit a 3-pointer.
Lee and Disu led all scorers with 10 points each at half.
--Field Level Media