LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) – Chuck Hayes scored 18 points and Kelenna Azubuike added 17 as No. 8 Kentucky won its fourth straight game, routing William & Mary 92-47 on Wednesday night.
Kentucky (8-1) posted its most lopsided win of the season. The Wildcats’ 45-point margin of victory was its largest since a 62-point romp over Vanderbilt on March 5, 2003.
Kentucky showed no signs of letdown after an emotional 60-58 win at Louisville on Saturday, a game in which the Wildcats trailed by 16 points with 11 minutes left.
William & Mary (3-5) led once, at 3-2. Kentucky scored the next 11 points, and the rout was on.
Both teams substituted freely, as all but one player who dressed played in the first half.
But it didn’t seem to matter who was in the game – Kentucky simply dominated, as the Wildcats shot 48.7 percent from the field (including 11 dunks) and outrebounded the Tribe 45-28.
When Kentucky coach Tubby Smith sent his second string into the game for a 3 1/2-minute stretch of the first half, the subs scored 11 straight points to extend Kentucky’s lead to 30-9. The starters returned and ran the margin to 42-13 before exiting again.
Kentucky led 44-19 at halftime. William & Mary came no closer than 21 points in the second half, and the Wildcats led by as many as 48 points.
The Tribe, without a starter taller than 6-foot-6, didn’t go inside much – their first seven shots came from 3-point range, and they didn’t attempt a 2-pointer for the first 11 1/2 minutes. William & Mary had almost as many turnovers (16) as shots (19) in the half and didn’t attempt a free throw.
William & Mary shot 37.2 percent from the field and finished with 32 turnovers, a season-high for the Tribe. Reid Markham and Taylor Mokris each had seven points for William & Mary.
Joe Crawford added 12 points for Kentucky, which had 13 of its 15 players score. However, junior guard Patrick Sparks, who scored 25 points and hit three free throws with 0.6 seconds left against Louisville, went scoreless for the Wildcats on 0-of-6 shooting.
It was only the second time in Sparks’ career – which included two seasons at Western Kentucky – that he failed to score in a game. He did have a team-high seven assists.
William & Mary has lost 27 straight games to ranked teams since Dec. 7, 1977, when the Tribe upset North Carolina.
