Bobby Perry scored a career-high 22 points and Rajon Rondo added 13 as Kentucky routed Liberty 81-51 on Friday night at Rupp Arena in front of 22,717 fans.
The win was the Wildcats’ 10th straight at home as they improve to 4-1 on the year. The Flames drop to 1-2 overall. The 81 points was a season-best for UK while the 51 points allowed was the second fewest given up this year.
Kentucky took a 36-27 lead into the break and the teams traded baskets early in the second half as Liberty remained close at 42-31. However UK turned a tight game into a blowout with a 23-4 spurt over a 10 minute span. Perry began the run with a layup and seven Wildcats scored during the run, which Rondo capped with a pair of free throws at the 8:28 mark.
During the stretch, the Wildcats defense was smothering, holding the Flames to 1-for-13 from the field and forcing eight turnovers. Meanwhile, Kentucky was padding a lead that ballooned to 34 points, 74-40, on Shagari Alleyne?s dunk with 4:21 left.
Liberty shot just 32.2 percent for the game and committed 17 turnovers. It is the 28th straight game, and the 70th in the last 71 that Kentucky has held its opponent to below 50 percent shooting. No opponent this year has bettered 42 percent.
?I thought, that in tonight?s game, we had a lot of confidence and played really hard,? Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith said. ?We played with a lot of energy to start the game and into the second half.?
Perry opened the game with a three pointer and scored 14 points in the game’s first 12 minutes as the Wildcats sprinted to a 24-14 lead. At that point, he had already bettered his previous career high of 12, set on Monday against No. 17 Iowa.
Perry was 5-for-6 in the first half, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, and finished the game 8-of-12. Rondo, who was 3-for-4 from three-point land, just missed his third double-double of the year as he added a career-high nine assists and seven rebounds to his 13 points. He also had two steals.
?I was very pleased with the all-around play of Bobby Perry,? Smith said. ?He had a career high in points and has been playing well.?
Perry and Rondo paced a Kentucky offense that continued its torrid shooting from behind the arc. In the last two games, the Wildcats have buried 23 three-pointers and the team is shooting better than 42 percent from long range on the year.
Senior Patrick Sparks knocked down a three pointer in the first half and has a trey in eight straight games dating back to last year.
Larry Blair kept Liberty in the game with 16 first-half points and a game-high 26 overall. After the Wildcats pushed an early lead to 10, he sparked an 8-2 run to bring Liberty within four, 26-22 at the 5:41 mark. However, Kentucky answered immediately with a 10-3 spurt to take its biggest lead, 36-25, of the opening 20 minutes.
The Wildcats won the rebounding battle, 48-35, which produced a 24-6 margin in second-chance points. Junior Rekalin Sims and Rondo each had seven to lead the way. Rondo has led Kentucky in rebounding in all five games this year.
?We rebounded the ball better than we have in the past and that?s a big plus for us,? Smith said. ?When we were able to get the rebound on second-chance opportunities, our guys felt like they could put it back up.?
Behind Sheray Thomas? career-high nine points and Brandon Stockton?s six, the UK bench outscored Liberty?s 28-7.
Kentucky returns to action Tuesday when it hosts Big South opponent High Point, which is the alma mater of Wildcats head coach Tubby Smith.
