No. 23 Kentucky Rolls Past Manhattan
Milan Momcilovic scored 24 points as No. 23 Kentucky crushed Manhattan 85-57 on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.
Momcilovic hit six of nine from behind the arc, tying the record for made three-pointers in a UK debut (Antonio Reeves, 2022).
Zoom Diallo had 12 points for the Cats and Alex Wilkins had 11. Wilkins also had seven steals, the most ever by a UK player in their debut.
Kentucky scored first on an Ousmane N’Diaye putback, but Manhattan scored six straight to lead by four. Malachi Moreno scored in the lane before the Jaspers hit a three to lead 9-4. Diallo answered with a three of his own, making it 9-7.
Manhattan hit another three to lead by five before a Franck Kepnang layup cut the deficit to 12-9. After a Manhattan free throw, UK got threes from Wilkins, Justin McBride and Mason Williams to lead 18-13. Two Kepnang free throws and another basket from Williams closed out the 13-0 run that gave Kentucky a 22-13 advantage.
After a Manhattan basket, Wilkins hit another three and Braydon Hawthorne scored to extend the lead to 27-15. The Jaspers hit a free throw to get within 11, but a Milan Mocilovic three, a Diallo free throw and a three-point play from Moreno gave the Cats a 34-18 lead. The Jaspers scored to get within 16, but a Momcilovic basket and two Diallo free throws gave Kentucky 38-18.
The Jaspers made a free throw before Momcilovic hit another three, making it 41-19 and ending a 32-6 run by the Cats. After a Manhattan free throw, Wilkins scored and Momcilovic hit his third three-pointer of the first half, stretching the lead to 46-20. UK would lead 48-22 at the half.
Momcilovic started the second half with another three, followed by a Diallo layup. After a Manhattan basket, Momcilovic hit two free throws and Diallo scored on an acrobatic drive to the bucket, giving the Cats a 57-24 lead. However, Manhattan would score the next five points to get within 28.
Another Diallo layup and a Moreno dunk gave UK a 61-29 advantage. After Manhattan scored, Wilkins drained a three and the Cats led by 33. Manhattan would go on a 7-2 run to cut the UK lead to 67-38 before Williams scored to push the lead back over 30.
Kentucky would go on a 14-6 run, including two more threes from Momcilovic, to lead 83-44. That would be UK’s largest lead of the game.
Kentucky returns to action on Friday, hosting James Madison at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.
