KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Sparks scored 25 points and led an early 20-0 run that carried No. 7 Kentucky past No. 13 West Virginia 80-66 on Tuesday night in the consolation game of the Guardians Classic.

Kentucky (3-1) turned an early 9-2 deficit into a 22-9 lead in the first half with Sparks hitting three 3-pointers, and West Virginia (2-2) spent the rest of the game trying to catch up.

Twice the Mountaineers cut the lead to three, the last time with 8:23 left when Patrick Beilein and Kevin Pittsnogle hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 56-53.

But Ravi Moss answered with a 3 for the Wildcats and a few minutes later Sparks hit his seventh 3-pointer and Rajon Rondo scored for a 68-58 advantage.

Rondo had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Sparks was 7-for-11 from behind the arc, matching his career-high. He also had six assists.

Kentucky was 2-for-8 from the foul line before making its last six free throws in the final 70 seconds to seal the victory.

Pittsnogle tied his career-high with 27 points and also had 10 rebounds. The only other Mountaineer in double figures was Mike Gansey with 12 points.

The Mountaineers, who earned a preseason ranking for the first time in 43 years, went scoreless for 9:52 during Kentucky’s 20-0 run until Pittsnogle made a short jumper in the lane.

West Virginia cut the lead to 28-23 on Pittsnogle’s 3-pointer with 3:23 left in the first half before Kentucky scored the next five points on Jared Carter’s tip-in and three-point play. Frank Young’s 3-pointer at the buzzer left the Wildcats with a 33-26 halftime lead.

The Mountaineers, who had a school-record 319 3-pointers last season, missed 10 of their first 11 and finished 10-for-37 from behind the arc.