No. 17 Kentucky men’s basketball (3-1) defeated Stonehill (1-4) 101-67 at home on Friday, earning the first win over the Skyhawks in program history.
The Wildcats entered the game on the back of their first loss of the season, falling 89-84 against No. 1 Kansas in the StateFarm Champions Classic in the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Looking for a bounce back opportunity, Kentucky took the court inside Rupp Arena to face the Division-I sophomores in the form of the Skyhawks.
The Wildcats kicked things off with a familiar starting five of Justin Edwards, Adou Thiero, D.J. Wagner, Antonio Reeves and Tre Mitchell.
Kentucky won the opening tipoff but it was the Skyhawks who found the basket first in the contest. While the visitors tried to stay ahead of the Wildcats early, Kentucky quickly powered back from the opening deficit.
Kentucky then erupted from the field, shooting 78% and 75% (6-7) from beyond the arch after nine minutes to jump ahead 30-15.
While the Cats would cool down slightly from the field, the lead would not shrink, becoming 40-21 after 13 minutes of play.
The Wildcats would maintain their roughly 20-point lead as halftime drew near.
This trend would continue into the halftime break itself, with the Cats ahead 58-37 at the end of the half. UK shot above 60% both from the field and from beyond the arch in the half.
Coming out of the break however, things took a slight turn for the Cats, who returned to the court far less energized than when they’d left it.
Luckily for the home fans in attendance, the poor start was just that: a start. The Wildcats quickly arrived on the scene and propelled themselves to a 23-point lead.
Once they arrived, the Cats never departed, continuing to stay consistent on the court.
A red-hot Reed Sheppard would continue to push the Cats ahead further and further, notching 23 points and shooting 7-8 from beyond the arch with six minutes left to play.
With the lead in the 30s, there was little the Skyhawks could do but eagerly await the final buzzer as the Cats picked up a strong bounce-back win.
Kentucky men’s basketball will return to action on Monday, Nov. 20, from Rupp Arena to face off against St. Joseph’s. The matchup is set to tipoff at 7 p.m. ET and will air live on the SEC Network.
