Kentucky’s 74-69 road loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday would have looked a lot worse had it not been for the efforts of junior guard Otega Oweh.

While playing far from a perfect game, Oweh did just about everything his team required of him in the second half. He was a different player from first half to second half. The man who has scored in double-figures every game so far this season went into the intermission with just four points and a turnover. Kentucky trailed by 14 points and looked overwhelmed by Vanderbilt’s defensive pressure.

The Wildcats were already without backup point guard Kerr Kriisa coming into this Nashville showdown. Starting forward Andrew Carr was ruled out two hours prior to tipoff. Starting point guard Lamont Butler is beginning to look like a shell of himself as his body continues to take a game-by-game beating. Oweh had no choice but to step up — if only to avoid a 20-point blowout loss.

“He was fighting,” Head coach Mark Pope said postgame. “We’re dealing with a bunch of issues tonight and so it kind of forced him to play with the ball in his hands a little bit and he was terrific doing it.”

Oweh scored 17 second-half points to finish his afternoon with 21, the fifth time this season he’s hit that exact number. He added seven rebounds after halftime to reach 12 for the game, his first double-double as a Wildcat and second as a college player. Oweh’s final stat line also included three assists and one steal in 33 minutes of action. He shot 8-14 from the field (0-3 3PT) and 5-7 from the free throw line.

During Kentucky’s second-half comeback, Oweh was the source of energy. He opened up the half with a steal that led to a Lamont Butler three-pointer. He followed that with a pair of free throws and an and-one soon after that. A pull-up jumper cut Vanderbilt’s lead down to just six a little over four minutes into the half. There was nothing he wasn’t doing for the ‘Cats.

His stellar play continued throughout the second half. A huge dunk down the lane on top of a Vanderbilt player’s head gave Kentucky a three-point lead with under eight minutes to go. Another jumper soon after once again increased UK’s lead. His layup with three minutes to play put the ‘Cats in front by one.

But those two points were Kentucky’s last of the game. Vanderbilt responded and never trailed the rest of the way. Oweh was hardly the only reason UK gave up the lead down the stretch, but his decision-making didn’t make a final comeback attempt any easier. He took a poor three-point attempt with two minutes to go that didn’t fall. His unforced turnover with less than 60 seconds left put the final nail in the coffin.

“I had a couple of plays I was careless with it,” Oweh admitted afterward.

Kentucky could easily lost this game by 20-plus points if not for Oweh’s production in the second-half. But at the same time, if he played that well all game, the final outcome probably favors the Wildcats.