Show for Bernie

The Vols turned back a furious Kentucky rally with 22,320 fans in attendance and a national ESPN television audience looking on, scoring an 89-85 victory over the 20th-ranked Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Orange and white streamers rained down from the ceiling and confetti fluttered when the final horn blew, capping a perfect night for the resurgent Vols (18-8, 6-5 SEC). UT has won 14 in a row at home and four of its last five games.

"You think ESPN likes what they saw? I promise they do,’’ said UT coach Bruce Pearl. "ESPN will continue to come back if we can continue to deliver this kind of basketball, and that's going to continue to bring good student-athletes to campus.

"This week we beat Vanderbilt and Kentucky, and that’s what the great Tennessee teams have done.’’

The lead changed hands 10 times before UT drained five consecutive 3-point shots to take a 36-26 lead, which it extended to 40-30 at intermission.

At halftime, the Vols turned "The Summitt" floor over to former UT great and NBA all-star Bernard King, who won five of his six meetings with Kentucky from 1974-77. King, a three-time All-American, had his No. 53 retired and hung from the rafters.

"Bernie came to our shoot-around this morning and he talked about how he beat Kentucky lots of times,’’ said UT junior wing Chris Lofton, who played 30 minutes in his third game back from a sprained ankle. "That motivated us.’’

As if Lofton needed any more incentive against the Wildcats (18-7, 7-4).

The junior from Maysville, Ky., scored a team-high 23 points, icing the game by hitting 5 of 6 free throws in the final 30 seconds. Freshmen centers Duke Crews and Wayne Chism were integral to the Vols’ success as well, scoring 18 and 16 points, respectively, while combining to hit on 14 of 21 shots.

The Vols took their largest lead at 51-35 when JaJuan Smith scored on a three-point play with 16:38 remaining.

But the Wildcats were far from finished with Joe Crawford heating up to score 18 of his game-high 24 points in the second half.

Kentucky clawed its way back from the 16-point deficit by scoring on 16 of its next 20 possessions, including a string of 10 in a row that enabled them to tie the game at 77-77 on a pair of Jodie Meeks free throws with 3:54 remaining.

"They made some tough shots, and Crawford made tough shots,’’ Pearl said. "They got the ball inside to (Randolph) Morris.’’

Morris, the Wildcats’ 6-foot-11 junior post, scored 14 points and controlled the boards with a game-high 12 rebounds.

But it was UT’s backcourt that stole the show down the stretch.

JaJuan Smith scored on a put-back after recording one of his team-high seven rebounds to give the Vols a 79-77 lead with 3:33 left.

Kentucky’s Derrick Jasper answered to tie the game but missed on a free throw at the 3:16 mark that would have given the Wildcats the lead.

The next trip down, Lofton showed his versatility, passing up a 3-point shot to fire the ball inside to Chism who laid it in, making it 81-79 with 2:51 on the clock.

"I thought he was going to shoot it, but he saw me open,’’ Chism said. "That’s an example of how we’re starting to play together.’’

Crawford fired up a 3-point attempt at the other end, but with fellow Michigander Ramar Smith guarding him tightly, the shot went awry and Lofton was there for the rebound and raced up court.

Again, Lofton passed on a shot, passing instead to a teammate for another of his five assists, and Ramar Smith scored the basket inside to give the Vols an 83-79 lead with 2:09 left.

Morris tallied with a bucket inside to make it an 83-81 game before Ramar Smith drew a foul on a drive and split a pair of free throws, putting UT up 84-81 with 1:29 left.

The tension mounted and the crowd noise picked up, and the Wildcats’ next two trips down the floor resulted in two of their 19 turnovers.

Both times, tipped balls ended up in the hands of senior Dane Bradshaw, who, despite going scoreless for the second straight game, found a way to finally beat Kentucky at Thompson-Boling Arena, recording nine assists with just two turnovers.

Bradshaw’s second steal left the Wildcats’ desperate to foul, and on each of the Vols’ final three possessions, the ball was worked into Lofton's hands.

"In the end, we tried to keep the ball from one of the best free throw shooters in the country,’’ Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said. "We couldn’t do that.’’

And the rest, as Lofton would see to it, was history.

Mike Griffith covers University of Tennessee men’s basketball.