No. 19 Kentucky attacked the interior to the tune of 48 points in the paint, and the Wildcats rolled past visiting Tennessee Tech 104-54 on Wednesday in Lexington, Ky.
The Wildcats (5-2) faced a deficit more than halfway through the first half, trailing 23-19 after five quick points by the Golden Eagles’ Brandon Muntu and Ty Owens. But when Denzel Aberdeen found Brandon Garrison on an alley-oop dunk the ensuing possession, it ignited a 22-3 Kentucky run over the seven minutes.
Another run of 22-6 through a nearly eight-minute span in the second half put the game away. Kentucky’s defense overwhelmed the Golden Eagles (3-4) most of the way after intermission, holding Tennessee Tech to sub-30% field-goal shooting until the visitors knocked down a pair of late-game 3-pointers.
Kentucky limited Tennessee Tech’s outside shooting for most of the game, giving up just 6 of 28 (21.4%) from beyond the arc.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, put up a blistering 12 of 17 (70.6%) from long range in the second half to finish the night 15 of 30. Kentucky used its dominant presence inside to force Tennessee Tech into the lane, freeing up shooters for clean looks from deep.
Aberdeen and Trent Noah, who each matched Otega Oweh with a game-high 16 points, buried four 3-pointers apiece. Noah was 4 of 5 from long distance and 5 of 6 from the floor overall.
Aberdeen shot 6 of 10 from the field – 4 of 6 from outside — while both Oweh and Collin Chandler shot 6 of 11. Chandler finished with 14 points.
Malachi Moreno rounded out Kentucky’s quintet of double-figure scorers with 13. Moreno also pulled down 11 rebounds, contributing to the Wildcats’ 48-27 advantage on the glass.
Andrija Jelavic snared 10 boards for Kentucky.
Ja’Quavian Florence (11 points) and Dani Pounds (10) led Tennessee Tech in scoring. However, Pounds — who came in averaging 11.2 points per game — was limited to 17 minutes due to foul trouble.
Kentucky capitalized on Tennessee Tech’s foul troubles with an edge of 11 of 13 to 2 of 5 at the free-throw line.
