Second-half wall a killer

Kentucky won in a 76-57 runaway at Rupp Arena, handing the Vols their fifth defeat in the past six games and dropping UT (14-7 overall, 2-4 SEC) into a last-place tie in the SEC East with South Carolina.

A sold-out crowd of 24,311 witnessed the Wildcats (16-5, 5-2) hand UT coach Bruce Pearl the largest margin of defeat in his 51-game tenure as head coach.

"It’s challenging, but not demoralizing,’’ said Pearl, whose team has held halftime leads in all six of its SEC games this season. "We got off to a good start, and I think you can see the team was trying to do the best it could without Chris (Lofton).’’

Indeed, but over the final 10 minutes it became evident that the best Tennessee could offer without the services of Lofton, who has been out since suffering a sprained ankle in a Jan. 20 victory over South Carolina, wasn’t good enough.

"We know we were fortunate to catch them without Chris,’’ said Kentucky coach Tubby Smith, whose team had lost two consecutive games entering Sunday. "Obviously Chris is a gifted athlete with unbelievable range and he’s a clutch player.’’

UT came out with a 7-0 lead, determined to show it could win without Lofton. Lofton will practice today but remains questionable for Wednesday night’s home game with Georgia.

The Vols led 31-30 at the half, having achieved one of its objectives by getting Wildcats’ 6-foot-11 post Randolph Morris to pick up two fouls in the game’s first 10 minutes.

Another goal — avoiding the type of early second-half letdown that has plagued the Vols in other SEC road losses — was attained when Josh Tabb hit a hanging one-hander in the lane to draw UT to 47-46 with just over 10 minutes left.

But when Ramel Bradley scored three of his team-high 21 points on a 3-pointer at the 9:45 mark, the Cats caught fire, and the Vols froze up. Kentucky hit its next six shots — four of them 3-pointers — en route to a 20-2 run that effectively decided what had been a closely contested game.

Jodie Meeks’ trey from the wing capped the Kentucky onslaught, giving the Wildcats a 67-48 lead with 4:40 remaining.

"Shooting is rhythm and is contagious,’’ Tubby Smith said, "and our guys were getting good looks.’’

JaJuan Smith, who scored a career-high 25 points, hit a 3-pointer to end a run that saw the Vols hit one of four shot attempts while turning the ball over twice and missing the front end of two 1-and-1 free-throw situations.

"We like to play through big runs (not calling timeouts) because we feel we have the answers,’’ said UT senior Dane Bradshaw, who was held scoreless while collecting four rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes. "Today, we didn’t have the answers on offense or defense.

"After the first couple of losses, I said that hopefully we’ll reach our peak later. But now, we need to get a grip on this.’’

Even with the Vols leading at the half, there were clues Tennessee didn’t have a firm hold in Sunday’s game.

Kentucky had out-rebounded UT 22-16 at the half on the way to a 42-27 advantage in the game, and 14 of the Wildcats’ 30 first-half points came on second-chance opportunities.

"If not for second-chance points, we’d have had a good margin,’’ Pearl said. "Their offensive rebounds killed us.’’

The Vols out-shot Kentucky 46.4 percent to 32.4 through the first 20 minutes, but those tables also turned in the second half. The Wildcats made 64 percent of their shots — including 63.6 percent from beyond the arc — while UT dropped off to a 30-percent clip.

"We know we can turn things around and win 10 straight,’’ said Vols’ freshman post Duke Crews, who continued his offensive struggles with a two-point, three-rebound outing. "Kentucky is a great team, and if you give them second chances, they’ll make plays.

"But this is not going to break us. We’re just going to go back to practice and work even harder.’’

UT plays host to Georgia (13-6, 5-2) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Tubby’s Take: Smith said part of the Vols’ road woes are understandable and commonplace.

"Freshmen, it’s tough when you go on the road,’’ Smith said. "All of them have a tendency, like our freshman, to have a tougher time on the road.’’

Smith suggested UT’s Ramar Smith, who had 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting along with five assists and three turnovers, will improve.

"It’s a matter of him getting used to it,’’ Tubby Smith said. "He’s a talented player; he’s gifted.’’

Strange Stat: Jordan Howell (6-foot-3) had a career-high four rebounds, tying for team-high honors with Bradshaw (6-4) and Tabb (6-4).

Not Surprising: The Vols made five of 10 free throws while the Wildcats were 11-of-13 shooting from the line. UT is 0-6 when its opponent has more free-throw attempts.