WATCH: Mark Pope, Kentucky players recap the loss to Texas

Kentucky was up five on Texas with 3:51 to go but failed to execute down the stretch, resulting in an 82-78 loss. Mark Pope refused to use the fact that his team was down three guards as an excuse for the late-game collapse.

“We’re not leaving any space for that,” Pope said when asked about the injuries and the mental and physical fatigue of playing shorthanded. “I have a good team. Like, the guys on the court are good players, and we’re good enough to win, and these guys have proven that. We just didn’t do it in the last three minutes and 45 seconds tonight. That’s just it. It just was tonight, and it’s super painful. It’s not acceptable.”

Pope said he was proud of his team’s effort but the execution in the final four minutes “stunk,” which he blamed on poor “presentness.” Freshman Trent Noah, who finished with 7 points and 6 rebounds but was held scoreless in the second half, agreed there will be plenty to learn from in the film room.

“I think it’s huge for us, and that’s something that we need to continue to work on and learn from this game. I think there are a lot of learning pieces that we can go back and figure stuff out and see how we can gain a positive benefit from this tough loss.”

Hear more from Pope, Noah, and Amari Williams below.

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