It was close, but not close enough once again Saturday for Tennessee.

Despite leading for most of the game, the Vols fell short of another home upset, dropping a 65-62 decision to No. 2 Kentucky at Thompson-Boling Arena.

After a six-minute UT scoring drought, some of the 21,678 fans in attendance began to pile out as Kentucky (17-1, 3-0 SEC) went up 62-54 with 53 seconds remaining. However, consecutive 3-pointers from Skylar McBee and Cameron Tatum cut the UK lead to two points at the 30-second mark.

With 10 seconds left, Tatum’s 3-point shot was no good. The Wildcats only needed three free throws to put the game away.

“You have to give them (Kentucky) credit,” head coach Cuonzo Martin said. “They did a good job defending, and that’s what good teams do. You have to defend at a high level. You have to compete. I thought both teams did a good job defending, that’s just part of it.”

The Vols lost 62-58 to No. 20 Mississippi State in a 9 p.m. tip-off Thursday. The game Saturday was at noon. Martin said fatigue wasn’t an issue, though.

The loss capped a three-game stretch against ranked teams for UT, which upset then No. 13 Florida Jan. 7 prior to the Mississippi State loss.

“(Our recent play) is encouraging, but you still want to come out with wins,” said Tatum, who led the Vols with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting (3-of-4 from beyond the arc). “We’re right there. The whole team feels it. We’ve got confidence, even after this game.”

Tennessee held Kentucky to 36 percent shooting in the first half as the Vols led 34-28 at halftime, which marked the first time UK trailed at the break this season. Jeronne Maymon had 10 points in the first half for UT, and finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, recording his fifth double-double of the season.

The Wildcats made half of their shots in the second half to spark the comeback. Still, UT held them 15 points below their season average. Martin has emphasized defense since he was hired in March. However, Tennessee ranks last in the SEC in scoring defense.

“I thought we were playing defense the way this program will be accustomed to playing defense: hard, aggressive and physical,” Martin said. “We’ve still got a ways to go as far as I’m concerned, but we’re at that level where I think we need to be. We’re making the necessary strides we need to be a really good defensive program.”

Neither team led by more than eight points.

“I am so impressed with what coach Martin has done,” said Kentucky coach John Calipari. “…I don’t really care what their record is; (Tennessee) is an NCAA Tournament team.”

Five-star prospect Jarnell Stokes scored nine points, four rebounds and an assist in 17 minutes of action in his debut for the Vols. The 6-foot-9 freshman power forward out of Memphis just enrolled in classes last week after graduating high school in December. After transferring multiple times, the TSSAA ruled Stokes ineligible to play in high school.

Stokes hit his first two shots and was 4-of-5 from the field after just three practices with the team.

“I just wanted to win the game,” Stokes said. “It was definitely big for me to make my first shot. I didn’t know when you first got on the court how tired you would be, as far as all the noise and bumping and grinding. It’s something I’ll have to get over and I’m looking forward to the next game.”

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (17 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks) led Kentucky, which extended its win streak to nine games. Anthony Davis (18) and Terrence Jones (10) also scored in double digits for the Wildcats.

Kentucky only led in two instances the first half: after scoring the first bucket, and a brief three-point lead around the four-minute mark.

Under former coach Bruce Pearl, UT was 4-0 against top five teams at home. The most recent of those wins was coincidentally against another second-ranked Wildcats squad in February 2010.