LEXINGTON, Ky. _ Ah, that's more like it. Well, relative to losing to Evansville last week, an 82-74 victory over Utah Valley Monday night was a return to Kentucky basketball's bottom-line normalcy: winning.
Utah Valley _ rated at No. 201 in the nation according to statistics savant Ken Pomeroy _ played Kentucky competitively for 40 minutes.
Kentucky, which was down to seven scholarship players available because of injuries to EJ Montgomery and Immanuel Quickley, answered Coach John Calipari's call for more effort in rebounding.
But three-point shooting continued to be an early-season issue as UK missed 11 of its 12 shots from beyond the arc.
The result was a possession-by-possession basketball drama.
The tension reached a zenith when the fourth of TJ Washington's five second-half three-pointers reduced Kentucky's lead to 68-67 with 3:24 left. He finished with 22 points.
After UK missed two shots, Utah Valley had a chance to take the lead. But the aptly named Trey Woodbury missed an open three-pointer from the left corner.
Utah Valley did not score again.
Nate Sestina's three-point play off a pass from Ashton Hagans eased nerves. Hagans led all scorers with a career-high 26 points.
Then, after Utah Valley missed another three-pointer, Nick Richards' tip-in made it 73-67 with 55.3 seconds left. Richards finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, which was his second double-double of the season and third of his career.
The victory, which improved UK's record to 3-1, evoked memories of something Calipari said on Sunday. "Be grateful for bad stuff and grateful for what it does for you."
Utah Valley, which has been picked to finish sixth in the Western Athletic Conference by media and league coaches, fell to 3-2.
Kentucky did not deliver an early knockout. UK did not take the first-half lead for good until less than six minutes remained.
The 35-27 halftime score matched UK's largest lead in the opening 20 minutes. The Cats won the rebounding 26-14 in the first half.
With Calipari having emphasized offensive rebounding, he probably liked the putback by Sestina that put Kentucky ahead 20-17 with 6:58 left. It was one of nine offensive rebounds in the half for UK.
Three-point shooting remained problematic. But Tyrese Maxey made a shot from beyond the arc that put UK ahead 25-20 with five minutes left in the half. That was UK's largest lead to that point. It was also the only three-pointer UK made in eight shots taken in the first half.
Something oh-so familiar put the lead at 31-25. Hagans stole a lazy pass and drove to a dunk.
Four free throws by Richards capped UK's scoring and his 11-point first half.
The second half began well for Kentucky. The Cats scored the first two baskets to expand the lead to 40-27. A Richards dunk was the first basket followed by Maxey's drive to a three-point play. Utah Valley center Brandon Morley picked up his fourth foul on the drive, which came with 18:38 left.
Those baskets were part of a 17-4 Kentucky run that covered the final 3:37 of the first half and the first 3:42 of the second. It put UK ahead 44-28.
The lead was 52-38 when Utah Valley's Washington gave the Cats a scare. He hit three three-pointers in 68 seconds, the third narrowing UK's lead to 54-47 and prompting a timeout with 11:11 left.
Washington's shooting seemed to breathe new life in Utah Valley. The Wolverines twice closed within six, then twice got within four points of Kentucky.
When Hagans missed a three-pointer, Utah Valley converted at the other end with a fast-break layup that reduced Kentucky's lead to 60-58.
By then, the crowd's chants of Go Big Blue were an urgent call for a counter, not the typical celebration of being part of Kentucky basketball.
