Recap: Kentucky outlasts Louisville in overtime

Cardinals force overtime, but Kentucky answers for rivalry victory.

Kentucky men’s basketball edged Louisville 78-70 in Lexington Dec. 28 at Rupp Arena. The Wildcats built a double-digit lead in the second half before Louisville rallied to force overtime.

The 19th-ranked Wildcats ended overtime on an 8-0 run after Louisville led by three points with less than two minutes left in the extra period. The Cardinals shot 40 percent from the field and went 9 of 20 from the free throw line. 

Steven Enoch scored a team-high 18 points for Louisville. Dwayne Sutton finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Lamarr Kimble added 12 points.

Tyrese Maxey scored a game-high 27 points for Kentucky. Nick Richards had 13 points and 10 rebounds. 

After scoring on its first two possessions, Louisville struggled offensively, making 1 of its next 12 shots. A 3-pointer by Maxey gave Kentucky its first lead with 13 minutes left in the first half. Nate Sestina scored on the next possession for a 9-6 lead.

Jordan Nwora banked a runner in the lane and was fouled with 7:53 left in the first half, taking the game’s first free throw despite a combined 14 team fouls. Nwora made the ensuing free throw to return the lead to Louisville at 15-14.

Kentucky closed out the final two-and-a-half minutes of the first half on a 9-2 run. Maxey made a 3-pointer on Kentucky’s final possession of the first half for a 32-24 lead.

The Cardinals shot just 35 percent from the field in the first half, making 1 of 11 shots from behind the arc.

Immanuel Quickley made a corner 3-pointer three minutes into the second half to extend Kentucky’s lead to 38-26.

Dwayne Sutton willed Louisville back into the game. After Steven Enoch converted a three-point-play in the low post on a hook shot, Sutton hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

Sutton had a steal that led to a transition foul and free throws.

Lamarr Kimble capped a 14-3 run with a pull-up 3-pointer to bring Louisville within 41-40 with 13:07 left. The Cardinals retook the lead when Enoch hit a shot from behind the arc with 9:30 left, but Louisville couldn’t build its lead with several empty possessions.

Maxey made a 3-pointer with 7:50 left to give Kentucky a 48-46 lead.

Kentucky’s bench was charged with a technical foul, resulting in a free throw by Nwora and Malik Williams scored on the ensuing possession on an offensive rebound to cut Louisville’s deficit to 52-51 with 4:12 left.

Kimble made a corner 3-pointer to return the lead to Louisville briefly, but Nate Sestina had a layup to give Kentucky a 55-54 lead.

Nwora made a free throw to tie the score. Both teams traded baskets as the game remained tied with less than two minutes left.

Quickley made a pair of free throws with 1:11 left to give Kentucky a 59-57 lead. Enoch answered with a hook shot in the lane with 46.6 seconds left.

Maxey had a runner in the lane with 32 seconds left to return the advantage to Kentucky. Louisville called a timeout with 24.9 seconds left. Kimble answered with 10.6 seconds left on a reverse layup to even the score at 61-61.

Maxey had one final drive, sending up a shot along the baseline that missed, but Keion Brooks had a put-back that just rolled out.

Sutton scored on a drive and was fouled on Louisville’s opening possession of overtime, converting a three-point-play.

Quickley made a 3-pointer from the wing late in the shot clock to return the lead to Kentucky with 3:18 left.

After McMahon made a free throw to tie the game at 65-65, Nwora made a corner 3-pointer on Louisville’s next possession for a 68-65 advantage.

Richards converted a three-point-play on a put-back and then scored on the next possession to give Kentucky a 70-68 lead with just over a minute left in overtime.

Enoch tied the score with 48 seconds left with a hook shot in the lane, but Richards made two free throws with 27.4 seconds left. McMahon missed a 3-pointer attempt on Louisville’s ensuing possession. 

Quickley made two free throws with 17.7 seconds left to return Kentucky's lead to two possessions.