LEXINGTON — It wasn’t a tale of two halves as much as it was a tale of two teams. Not Kentucky and Vanderbilt, but rather UK with and without Nick Richards.

UK, the No. 13 team in the country, trailed Vanderbilt, the team that has now lost a record 27-straight SEC games, by seven points at halftime. But that was the Wildcats minus Richards.

Richards then reentered the lineup, and UK outscored the visitors by 16 points on its way to a 71-62 victory.

Within a minute of taking the podium Wednesday night, Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse brought up Richards, unprompted.

“Nick Richards came back in the game, and he’s really a big presence for them with his ability to get to the offensive boards and finish above the rim,” he said.

The breakout junior was sidelined in the first half with two fouls, grabbing just one rebound in five minutes of play, but he made up for in the second half and finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, easily leading the Wildcats in plus/minus with a plus-16.

Without Richards, the Wildcats trailed at home against the SEC’s basement. With Richards, UK skated by the Commodores (8-12, 0-7 in the SEC).

John Calipari simplified it after the game.

“We need Nick,” he said.

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The Wildcats (16-4, 6-1) turned to Nate Sestina, who provides something Richards does not — 3-point shooting — in the first half, but he did not influence the game in the same way Richards does. Without Richards as a lob option or putback threat, the Wildcats’ offense suffered.

“He means a lot. What you saw from Nick in the second half, we needed him. He grabbed every single rebound down the stretch,” said Tyrese Maxey, who led the Wildcats with 17 points. “Even when I was trying to get a rebound, he took one from me and said, ‘Give me that. Get out of the way, little man!’ I’m very thankful that we have him. Best big man in the country.”

The Wildcats have won eight of their past nine games, and during that stretch, Richards has proved more and more vital, averaging 17.3 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.

He said it was frustrating to sit on the bench in the first half, especially knowing he could’ve “very well” prevented it. However, his return to the rotation is what kept the Wildcats from an embarrassing loss.

“In the second half, he just continued to be that great Nick he’s been all year,” EJ Montgomery said.

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Richards didn’t get his first point until the 18:32 mark of the second half, but then his positive impacts piled up. He grabbed a defensive rebound and scored on a putback on the other end. Next, he contested a shot, leading to a fast break. A couple minutes later, he notched another putback — this one a dunk — as the Wildcats crept back into the game.

There were four dunks in the second half at Rupp Arena, and all four came from Richards. Most notably, he scored on back-to-back alley-oop passes from Ashton Hagans in the closing minutes, putting the Commodores to bed.

Of course, that didn’t happen in the first half because Richards was sidelined with foul trouble.

“And what happens if he gets in foul trouble on dumb fouls?” Calipari said. “You can’t do that to us. We need you on the court.”

Stackhouse, a longtime NBA player, said that Richards has the makings of a future NBA big man. Part of that has to do with the 6-foot-11 junior’s physical abilities, which were highlighted by a comment from young fan after the game: “You’re the tallest person I’ve ever met!”

But it also has to do with his improved knowledge of the offensive end, the baseline jumper he hit with six minutes left, and the back-to-back possessions in which he effectively defended the pick-and-roll.

Still, Richards said that Calipari exaggerated his importance to the team.

“I think we got a lot of good pieces on our team,” Richards said. “I think we need each other.”

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That’s certainly true. And UK does need its talented guards to continue to play well. But without Richards in the game, the Wildcats are capable of losing to just about anybody, even lowly Vanderbilt.

But with him, well, the Wildcats are a different team.

“You need Nick,” Calipari said.

Hayes Gardner can be reached at hgardner@gannett.com; Twitter: @HayesGardner; Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.