Kentucky just kept battling in their thrilling 85-84 win over Oklahoma
Kentucky basketball nearly got sent home on Thursday night in the SEC Tournament, but not on Otega Oweh’s watch. Kentucky, who was up by 12 points with just under four and a half minutes to go, held the lead until the final seconds, when Oklahoma had a 7-0 run in the span of 28 seconds. The Sooners had a one-point lead, but it was an Otega Oweh game-winning layup that saved the day.
The Wildcats’ resilience was unmatched on Thursday, as after Lamont Bulter went down in the first half with a shoulder injury, they stayed focused on the task at hand. That is exactly what Mark Pope preached after the game, saying his team battled all down the stretch, and the win was all thanks to Otega Oweh.
“Otega is a microcosm of our whole team in the sense that we’re just going to keep battling and battling. If you’re gonna beat us, you’re gonna have to kill us. …We had a little bit of adversity tonight. Some unfortunate stuff, and the guys responded unbelievably well in the second half.”Pope on Kentucky’s response in the game.
The first segment of the second half saw Oklahoma take a one-point lead at the first media timeout, but Kentucky started to clean things up after that, eventually stretching the lead to as much as 12 points with just under 5 minutes to go in the game. Fast-forward to the last minute, and the two-teams are neck-and-neck, with sloppy play in the final seconds nearly costing them, but Oweh was there with the game-winning layup.
Kentucky will now have to shift their focus quickly, after having a night to celebrate, to Alabama as the take on the Crimson Tide Friday night in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.
