LEXINGTON, Ky. — Four days after it couldn't get shots to fall on its own home floor, Tennessee could hardly miss at times inside Rupp Arena late Saturday night.

In a game featuring two of the top offenses in the SEC, the No. 5 Vols, backed by a stellar shooting performance from Zakai Zeigler and Josiah-Jordan James, led big early and then answered everything No. 10 Kentucky threw at them the rest of the win to pick up a critical 103-92 road conference victory.

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Zeigler and James scored 26 points each and Dalton Knecht scored 16.

Santiago Vescovi and Jonas Aidoo tallied 11 apiece as Tennessee (16-5, 6-2 SEC) shot 48.6% from the field and 40% from three-point range. The Vols' 12 3-pointers were a season high.

The Vols won the boards, 44-38 with Aidoo grabbing 11 rebounds for a double-double.

Rob Dillingham led Kentucky (15-6, 5-4) with 35 points while Antonio Reeves scored 19 and Reed Sheppard had 16.

Zeigler and James hit 3-pointers on Tennessee's first two possessions and Vescovi added another before Kentucky burned a timeout less than four minutes into the first half and the Vols out to a 13-3 lead.

Reeves quelled Tennessee briefly with a jumper out of the break only for Zeigler to knocked down his second triple to up the lead to 16-5 before the first media timeout.

After being held scoreless against South Carolina, Gainey provided 5 quick points off the bench, including a jumper that opened up a 19-7 advantage. Kentucky responded on the offensive end, highlighted by multiple scores from Dillingham to pull the Wildcats within six at 23-17.

Reeves cut Tennessee's lead to three but Aidoo and James followed it up with back-to-back scores to swell the Vols' advantage to 27-20 at the midway point of the half. Knecht, who sat for a stretch on the bench after an early foul, extended Tennessee's run to 7-0 with a corner 3-pointer.

Zeigler continued the Vols' shooting success with his third 3-pointer, which put Tennessee's shooting percentage from beyond the arc at 58.3% with eight minutes still left in the half.

Reeves' 3-pointer with just under six minutes cut Kentucky's deficit to under double digits at 38-29 and it opened the way for an 8-0 run that brought the Wildcats within four but a joint effort from freshman Cameron Carr and Vescovi to keep the ball on the offensive end after a Sheppard steal helped set up a Carr assist to James.

James scored again following a defensive board from Carr and Tennessee was back up seven at 42-34, leading to another Kentucky timeout. The timeout, though was worthwhile as Dillingham laced a three and Reeves added another.

The Vols stayed in front, extending their lead to 46-42 after Vescovi was foul on a three-point attempt and made two of the three ensuing free throws just before halftime.

Kentucky threatened Tennessee's lead right out of the gate in the second half with Sheppard sinking a three to pull within one but an Aidoo dunk and James 3-pointer quickly put the Vols up six at 51-45.

James put Tennessee back up double digits with a three and Zeigler added a layup to pull the Vols ahead by 12 at 59-47 as the clock ticked inside of 15 minutes.

Dillingham missed several minutes after picking up his fourth foul with 12 minutes, 41 seconds to go and with its top scorer on the bench, Kentucky's comeback odds felt nearly insurmountable.

Tennessee maintained a sizable gap of 10 or more points for much of the half but after Dillingham reentered with less than 10 minutes left, the Wildcats rattled off a 7-0 run to trim the Vols' lead to seven with five minutes, 13 seconds remaining.

James hit a much-needed jumper late in the shot clock to end a two-plus minute scoring drought, then Zeigler beat the buzzer again on the next possession, stretching Tennessee's lead to 82-73.

Kentucky was unable to make a significant run at their deficit down the stretch.

Tennessee's offense looked uncharacteristic in its loss to South Carolina Tuesday.

The Vols missed a number of shots at the rim and the Gamecocks were successful in slowing down their pace on the offensive end. Knecht, who finished with 31 points, didn't get much scoring help with Zeigler, James and Aidoo finishing well below their season averages.

Tennessee got the most out of its lineup offensively against Kentucky, though with four players scoring in double figures.

Arguably the biggest storyline for the Vols was the resurgence of James, who had scored a combined 6 points in his previous four games, including a scoreless outing at Vanderbilt.

James made several big shots in key moments and his 3-pointer with just over two minutes remaining all but put the game away for good. Having James back as a viable scoring option bodes well for Tennessee going forward.

Tennessee returns to Knoxville to face LSU Wednesday.

The Tigers are 12-9 overall and 4-4 in league play in head coach Matt McMahon's second season with wins over Texas A&M and Ole Miss on their resume.

LSU routed Arkansas, 95-74 in its most recent outing Saturday.

Tip-off between the Vols and Tigers at Food City Center is slated for 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

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