FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas men’s basketball team played one of its most inspired games of the SEC season, but it was not enough Saturday against sixth-ranked Kentucky.
The Wildcats overcame a 10-point first-half deficit and defeated the short-handed Razorbacks 63-57 at Bud Walton Arena.
Arkansas (10-10, 1-6 SEC) lost its third consecutive game. The Razorbacks played without forward Trevon Brazile (knee soreness) and without guard Davonte Davis, who “stepped away from the team,” according to an official press release minutes before tipoff.
In spite of that, Arkansas played well out of the chute. The Razorbacks led 18-8 as Kentucky missed 15 of its first 16 shots.
The Wildcats, who ranked 11th nationally with a 49.8% field goal percentage coming into the game, shot 9 of 31 (29%) in the first half and Arkansas led 26-24 at halftime.
Kentucky (15-4, 5-2) did not lead until Reed Sheppard’s steal and slam with 12:54 remaining. That was the first of 5 lead changes over a short span until Sheppard’s layup with 10:21 to play gave the Wildcats the lead for good at 42-41.
Arkansas pulled to within 53-52 when El Ellis made a driving layup with 2:54 left, but Kentucky responded with an 8-0 run to put the game away. Sheppard’s three with 1:25 left put the Wildcats ahead 61-52.
Antonio Reeves scored 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting to lead the Wildcats. Reeves scored 37 points in the previous meeting between the teams, an 88-79 victory by Kentucky last March in Fayetteville.
Sheppard added 14 points and Tre Mitchell had a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double for the Wildcats, who rebounded from a 79-62 loss at South Carolina on Tuesday.
Makhi Mitchell led the Razorbacks with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Tramon Mark and Khalif Battle each added 11 points. Mark returned after missing Arkansas’ 77-51 loss at Ole Miss on Wednesday with migraine headaches.
The Razorbacks held Kentucky, the nation’s highest-scoring team, to 27 points points below its 89.9 per-game average. The Wildcats shot 14 of 32 (43.8%) after halftime and 23 of 63 (36.5%) overall. Kentucky made 9 of 20 three-point attempts.
Arkansas shot 20 of 60 (33.3%) and was 4 of 19 from beyond the arc. The Razorbacks committed 13 turnovers that Kentucky turned into 12 points.
Arkansas is scheduled to play at Missouri on Wednesday. The Razorbacks and Kentucky are scheduled to play again March 2 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.