Kentucky 74, Vanderbilt 70: Freshman Willie Cauley-Stein scored a career-high 20 points as the host Wildcats survived a late Vanderbilt rally to edge the Commodores.

Archie Goodwin added 16 points and Ryan Harrow returned to the starting lineup with 12 points for Kentucky (18-8, 9-4 SEC), which won for the first time since losing center Nerlens Noel.

Kedren Johnson tallied 17 points and seven assists while Rod Odom chipped in 16 points for Vanderbilt (10-15, 4-9), which has alternated wins and losses over its last four contests.

The Commodores, who battled back from a 16-point deficit in the teams’ meeting in January only to lose in controversial fashion, trailed by 13 midway through the second half in this one. However, the Wildcats went a span of 7:02 without a field goal and Johnson scored seven straight points to cap a 14-3 run to get Vanderbilt within 61-59 with 3:57 left.

But a 3-pointer from Julius Mays, a dunk by Cauley-Stein and six free throws over the final 58 seconds helped Kentucky escape as the Wildcats improved to 138-45 all-time against Vanderbilt.

GAME NOTEBOOK: With a little over three minutes remaining, the teams were involved in a brief altercation following a rebound by the Commodores’ Josh Henderson. No punches were thrown, but Vanderbilt’s Kevin Bright and Nathan Watkins were ejected after leaving the bench and stepping onto the court. … Kentucky shot 51.8 percent, the first time in four games it has hit half its field-goal attempts. … Vanderbilt allowed more than 60 points for the first time in seven games.