The University of Kentucky men’s basketball team didn’t start well against visiting Tennessee Tech (3-4) on Wednesday night inside the Wildcats’ Rupp Arena, but the hosts eventually found a groove.
The Golden Eagles held a surprising 25-23 lead with 7:18 left in the first half but Kentucky gained command quickly after as they ended the half on a furious 20-3 run and went into the locker room ahead 43-28.
Second year head coach Mark Pope’s squad didn’t let up in the final 20 minutes as their advantage ballooned to as many as 50 points.
Otega Oweh (6-11 shooting, two rebounds, three assists) and Denzel Aberdeen (6-10, two, four) each scored 16 points while the latter buried four of his six three-point attempts. Trent Noah poured in 16 points off the bench while drilling four triples, grabbing six rebounds, and dishing out an assist.
Colin Chandler tallied 14 points for the Wildcats and hit six of his 11 shots while knocking down two threes with five boards and five assists and Malachi Moreno registered a double-double with 13 points, 11 boards, and three assists on 4 of 5 shooting.
Bench players Ja’Quavian Florence (11 points, 5-12 shooting, 1-4 3PT, two rebounds, one assist) and Dani Pounds (10 points, 4-10 shooting, 2-3 3PT, two boards) paced the Golden Eagles.
Kentucky (39-66) shot 59 percent from the field and hit 15 of their 30 attempts from beyond-the-arc.
The Wildcats outrebounded Tennessee Tech 48-27 while also having the edge in assists (27-8), fast break points (27-10) and points in the paint (48-24) over the Golden Eagles.
19th-ranked Kentucky now takes its 5-2 record into an important rivalry matchup back at home on Tuesday against 16th-ranked North Carolina in the ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. on ESPN.
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