Santiago Vescovi scored 18 points and Chandler Kennedy added 17 to lead No. 16 Tennessee to a 76-63 victory over No. 4 Kentucky on Tuesday night.
Zakai Zeigler and John Fulkerson each added 14 points as the Volunteers (19-6, 10-3 Southeastern Conference) ran their home record to 14-0 this season with their eighth straight SEC victory.
The Wildcats (21-5, 10-3) were led by Oscar Tshiebwe’s 13 points and 15 rebounds. Jacob Toppin and Davion Mintz each scored 11 points.
Tennessee led by 14 at halftime. Kentucky cut the difference to eight midway through the second half. That’s when the Vols went on a 12-0 run, holding Kentucky scoreless for nearly five minutes.
It was a heated atmosphere from the start. More than 20,000 fans crammed into Thompson Boling Arena for the game in which three technical fouls were called in the first seven 7 minutes.
