No. 1 Tenn. tops Ken.; UCLA wins

Posted March 02, 2008 10:00 pm

Associated Press

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Chris Lofton scored 14 points, including a jump shot with 1:15 left, and top-ranked Tennessee beat Kentucky 63-60 on Sunday to stay atop the Southeastern Conference.

Tennessee lost to No. 18 Vanderbilt on Tuesday, three days after beating then-No. 1 Memphis to take over the top spot in the poll for the first time in school history.

The Vols squandered a big early lead in this one, then hung on to avoid consecutive losses for the first time this season.

Derrick Jasper hit a 3-pointer to cut the Vols' lead to 63-60, but Jasper and Joe Crawford both missed 3-point shots in the final 20 seconds that would have sent the game to overtime.

Tennessee (26-3, 12-2) held a 34-27 halftime advantage after leading the entire first half, but Kentucky (16-11, 10-4) tied it at 41 when Ramon Harris hit a jumper while being fouled by Duke Crews.