Midway through the first half on Tuesday night, No. 8 Kentucky men’s basketball held a mere 19-16 lead over Western Kentucky.

The Wildcats were struggling to separate themselves from the Hilltoppers as Western Kentucky went on a 7-0 run to impend on the Cats lead. During the Hilltoppers’ run, Kentucky went scoreless for two minutes in an oddly quiet Rupp Arena.

“There was a ton of frustration oozing throughout the whole game,” Kentucky Head Coach Mark Pope said. “We certainly didn’t play close to perfect, but I thought the guys were in it the whole time.”

An unanticipated upset looked possible.

From there, offensive woes ensued on both sides. Western Kentucky’s four turnovers shortcut its attempt to seize the Wildcats’ lead despite the Cats’ shooting slump of one basket for their last nine attempts. 

Kentucky had a 22-18 lead with roughly nine minutes left in the first half. 

The defense for the Wildcats stepped up, however, and forced Western Kentucky into a shooting slump of its own, which consisted of one of eight shooting in a two minute stretch. In ironic fashion, the Hilltoppers held Kentucky to zero field goals for three minutes as well.

Nonetheless, Kentucky gripped a narrow 26-20 lead over Western Kentucky.

The Wildcats then overcame their offensive struggles to extend their lead by forcing the Hilltoppers to miss 10 of their last 11 shots. Three straight baskets by forward Andrew Carr, guard Otega Oweh and a three by guard Koby Brea gave the Cats a 38-24 lead.

Once again, life was rejuvenated in a dormant Rupp Arena.

At the half, Kentucky had an uncharacteristic seven turnovers that led to seven Hilltopper points. The Wildcats walked into the locker room with a somewhat ugly 45-33 lead.

Western Kentucky left plenty to be desired, only shooting 30% from the field and not capitalizing on the Wildcats’ mishaps. 

It was evident Kentucky needed a go-to offensive force to revitalize its offense.

The Wildcats returned to the court from the halftime break, handing out three turnovers, which led to a three-minute field goal drought. Western Kentucky kept leering around while Kentucky tittered with a small lead. 

Kentucky experienced another scoring drought, missing seven straight field goals as Western Kentucky eyed a seven point deficit. 

The Hilltoppers were scoring in a multitude of ways with no clear number one scorer with scores from inside the 3-point arc and free-throws. 

Western Kentucky’s emphasis on interior attack also led to a slew of Wildcat fouls, but that didn’t deter Pope as Brea and guard Kerr Kriisa had three personal fouls but remained in the game.

Meanwhile, Oweh was beginning to pick up the slack for Kentucky.

“We needed a game like that, because it just showed us that we had to fight back and find other ways to win because we weren’t doing so well in the offensive game,” Oweh said. “We just needed a game like that, just to dig down, get some stops and just find a way.”

The former Oklahoma Sooner hit a corner three to extend the Cats’ lead to 14. It was his ninth point of the half. 

At that point in the game, Pope made a shift in his lineup, keeping four guards on the floor alongside Otega. That rotation change allowed Kentucky to sustain its lead at the midway point of the second half.

“Taking advantage of the switch with the guard and trying to swing it back to the guard to be able to get downhill and get into the lane,” Carr said. “I think offensively, that was a point of emphasis specifically when we go small ball and I’m at (center).”

Otega finished with 18 points, a three-man game-high alongside Carr and Hilltoppers’ guard Julius Thedford.

Western Kentucky forward Babacar Faye fouled out with seven minutes remaining in the game. It was a vital loss considering Faye was the Hilltoppers’ leading scorer with 16 points at the time. 

Slowly, the Hilltoppers were losing their footing. 

A three ball by Brea extended Kentucky’s lead to 16 points. Brea finished with nine points as Kentucky only hit eight deep balls, which was season low and four more than the Hilltoppers.

“Our ability to absorb and metabolize life’s frustration and get it out really quick,” Pope said. “It’s massively important (moving forward), I like where we are right now.”

Although Kentucky outdueled its Western counterpart 87-68, the Cats only shot 26% from three, a season low. Additionally, the Wildcats were subpar at the free-throw line shooting 29-42. 

Kentucky certainly left points off the board that could’ve come back to haunt it.

“I was really really excited going into this game, because we just need to learn and grow, and that’s going to be a growth phase for us to understand,” Pope said.

The Wildcats return to Rupp Arena to face Georgia State on Friday, Nov. 29, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. SEC Network will be airing the game live.