No. 8 Kentucky men’s basketball held on to defeat Georgia 105-96 inside Rupp Arena on Saturday.
The game was perhaps best known as the debut of Zvonimir “Big Z” Ivišić for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats entered the game on the back of a bounce-back SEC win over Mississippi State, defeating the Bulldogs 90-77 on the back of a 27-point performance by Antonio Reeves.
Looking to build a winning streak once again, the Cats brought out a familiar starting lineup of Justin Edwards, Reeves, D.J. Wagner, Aaron Bradshaw and Tre Mitchell.
The Bulldogs took an early lead before Kentucky’s long awaited big man, Ivišić, made his collegiate debut and made his presence known and boosting the Cats to a 13-3 run.
The big man continued to make an impact when he returned to the game, blocking another shot and banging a 3-pointer to extend the gap once again after Georgia began pulling back.
As if that wasn’t enough, Ivišić nailed two more 3-pointers and scored eight straight by himself to allow a 14-2 UK run and extend the Cats’ lead to 17 points.
Going into the break the Cats boasted a 19-point lead, though it got as large as 20 points, with over 50 points total.
Coming out in the second half, Kentucky found itself struggling a bit defensively but continuing to put its foot on the gas offensively, leading by 20 at the first media timeout after out-scoring the Bulldogs 14-13.
From there the Cats would get even better, reinserting Ivišić into the rotation and erupting for a 10-0 scoring run to lead by 27 points with under 14 minutes left to play.
The Bulldogs would pull back with two technical fouls on the Wildcats, but were unable to make it any closer than the halftime gap of 19 points.
Kentucky responded to the Georgia surge with unrelenting offense, extending the lead to nearly 30 points with just under eight minutes left to play.
While the lead may have seemed insurmountable, the Bulldogs did rally, getting back within 13 points by the time the Cats called a timeout with over two minutes left to play.
While the surge was enough to create some late drama, it was not enough to propel the Bulldogs over the Cats, with Kentucky holding on to earn its second straight win in conference play.
The Cats will return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 23, from Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina, against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Tip-off against the Gamecocks is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and will air live on the SEC Network.
