Oweh, Brea Lead Cats Past Wright State
Six players scored in double figures as No. 23 Kentucky rolled past Wright State 103-62 on Monday night at Rupp Arena.
Otega Oweh led the Cats with 21 points, making eight of nine shots from the floor, including all three of his three-point shots and both of his free throws.
Koby Brea came off the bench to score 18 points, making seven of eight from the floor and all four of this three-point shots.
Lamont Butler had 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Amari Williams had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Ansley Almonor and Andrew Carr each had 11 points.
UK head coach Mark Pope liked how his team started Monday’s game.
“Really proud of our guys. I thought they came out like I hoped they would. They were so intentional to start the game. They had exactly the right kind of makeup to start the game. Proud of them.”
Kentucky made five of its first six shots from the floor, taking a 13-5 lead in the process. All five UK starters had a basket during that run, which was capped by a Jaxson Robinson three.
Wright State would get within six before Kentucky got a three from Brea, a layup from Williams and another Brea three to lead 25-11. Brea added a jumper in the lane to give the Cats a 27-11 advantage and to cap a 10-0 run.
The Raiders would hang in the game, getting back within 13 points at 31-18 before Kentucky turned up the defense to spark a run. UK would get back-to-back steals and slams to lead 40-22 with 3:14 to play in the half.
After a Wright State basket, UK got two free throws from Carr, an Oweh layup and a Williams dunk, completing a 6-0 run to close the half, giving the Cats a 46-24 advantage at the break.
Kentucky made 18 of 31 (58.1 percent) of its shots in the first half, including four of nine (44.4 percent) from behind the arc.
In the second half, Wright State scored the first two points, but the Cats answered with a 17-2 run, including 14 points in a row, to lead 63-28. The Cats hit nine of their first 13 shots in the second half, including five of seven from behind the arc, to stretch what was already a comfortable lead.
Kentucky would lead by as many as 44 points in the second half.
The Cats return to action on Saturday, hosting Bucknell at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.
