UK basketball was able to rebound from their loss to Kansas on Friday night with a win over Eastern Tennessee State University, as UK was able to defeat the Buccaneers 78-61. 

Quade Green led the Cats on Friday, as he finished the game with a season-high 21 points. Twelve of Green’s points came from the first half, and he was instrumental in getting the Cats out of an early shooting slump.

To start the game, ETSU made multiple three-pointers while UK couldn’t make a shot. ETSU built a 10-point lead just 7:42 into the first half.

Coming out of a timeout, Green would begin his scoring splurge as he put up 10 points in 3:30, five of which were part of a 7-0 run to pull the Cats within three. Coming out of an ETSU timeout, UK’s offense would continue rolling as they went on a 9-2 run to take a four-point lead.

The Cats took a six-point lead into halftime after shooting 55 percent from the field. The offense would stay hot coming out of the locker room, as the Cats started the second half on a 9-0 run.

Five points from the run came from Kevin Knox, who scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half after a rough start. Knox also added 10 rebounds to give him his first double-double in the regular season.

For the rest of the second half, the Cats coasted to the victory, as they led by double-digits for most of the second half. UK’s lead would grow to as large as 22, which was at the 1:15 mark in the second half.

The Cats finished the game shooting 57 percent from the floor, which is the best they’ve done all season. The highest shooting percentage before this game was 46 percent against Vermont.

Despite the high shooting percentage, the Cats struggled at the free throw line, making only three of their 15 attempts. UK didn’t make their first free throw until 7:55 left in the game, which came from Knox.

Knox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Hamidou Diallo were the only UK players to make free throws, while four other players missed their chances from the charity strip.

UK’s next opponent will be the Troy Trojans, whom the Cats will host at Rupp Arena on Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.