Nov. 13, 2009

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• UK opened its 107th season of basketball winning its NCAA leading 1,989 game.
• Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart presented senior forward Patrick Patterson with a game ball before the game for eclipsing the 1,000-point mark at the end of last season.
• This was the ninth meeting all-time between the Wildcats and the Eagles, and the seventh game played in Lexington. Kentucky is now 9-0 against Morehead State and 7-0 in Lexington.
• This was the first time Kentucky head coach John Calipari has coached against Morehead State.
• Kentucky is now 88-19 all-time in season openers, winning seven of their last eight season openers. The Wildcats are also 91-16 all-time in home openers.
• UK is now 427-60 all-time in Rupp Arena, including 86 of its last 109 games.
• Kentucky is now 159-68 against teams in the state of Kentucky.
• A record crowd of 24,338 witnessed the game, it is the largest season opener crowd in UK history. The previous season opening record crowd was in 1993 when 24,327 watched the Wildcats beat Louisville.
• It was also the 11th largest crowd in the history of Rupp Arena.
• The Wildcats return to action on Monday, Nov. 16, when they face the Miami University Redhawks at Rupp Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. ET.

Team Game Notes

• Kentucky used the starting lineup of Darius Miller, Darnell Dodson, Eric Bledsoe, DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson which was the same starting lineup the Cats used in their first exhibition.
• The Wildcats extended their streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer to 712, the third longest streak in the country.
• Trailing 4-5 early in the first half, Kentucky went on an 18-3 run that held the Eagles scoreless for more than five minutes regaining the lead and creating a 14-point cushion.
• Morehead went on a 9-0 run late in the first half to cut the Kentucky lead to five.
• Kentucky lead at halftime by eight, 33-25.
• Kentucky had two players score in double digits in the first half, the first time two players have scored 10 or more points since Michael Porter (12) and Patterson (10) against Georgia last season.
• UK dominated the boards, holding a 43-24 rebounding advantage in the game and scoring 36 points in the paint.
• Kentucky started the second half on an 11-2 run, to open a 17-point lead, the largest lead of the game at the time. Kentucky’s largest lead in the game was 25.
• Three Wildcats scored in double figures in the game, Eric Bledsoe (24), Patrick Patterson (20) and Darnell Dodson (15). It was the first time three UK players have scored in double digits since Darius Miller (12), Jodie Meeks (25) and Patterson (15) accomplished the feat in the 2009 SEC tournament against Ole Miss.
• Patterson scored 20 points or more and posted over 10 rebounds for the 11th time during his UK career. The last Wildcat to score over 20 points and have more than 10 boards in a game was Patterson when he tallied 28 points and 12 boards at South Carolina on Feb. 25, 2009.
• Two Kentucky players, Patterson and Bledsoe, scored 20 or more points for the first time since Meeks (24) and Patterson (28) did it against LSU last season at Rupp.
• The score was never tied, and there were only two lead changes in the game. Kentucky did not trail after the 15:35 point in the first half.
• UK blocked eight shots in the game, the most since blocking 14 against Georgia, March 4, 2009.

Individual Game Notes

• Junior forward Patrick Patterson hit Kentucky’s first three-pointer in the game. It was also the Huntington, W.Va. native’s first three-pointer of his career.
• Patterson hit his first five shots of the game and went into the locker room at halftime 6-of-8 from the field with 14 points and six rebounds. It is the 21st time in his career that he has scored double figures in the first half. (Eight times as a freshman and 12 times last season as a sophomore.)
• The last time that Patterson scored 14 points in a first half was March 7, 2009 at Florida.
• Sophomore guard Darnell Dodson scored in double figures in the first half. Dodson had 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-6 from three-point land.
• Patrick Patterson totaled his 22nd career double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. His 22 double-doubles is the most among active SEC players, the next closes is LSU’s Tasmin Mitchell who has 16.
• Patterson’s double-double is the first for Kentucky since Perry Stevenson posted 13 points and 10 boards at Creighton last season.
• Dating back to last year, Patterson has now scored 10 or more points in 11 consecutive games.
• Eric Bledsoe became the first Wildcat player since Sam Bowie in 1979 to score 20 or more points in their UK opener.
• Bledsoe was 9-of-10 from the free throw line, becoming the first UK player since Jodie Meeks hit nine from the charity stripe versus Georgia on March 4, 2009.
• Bledsoe’s 24 points is the most points scored by a Wildcat since Patterson scored 28 against LSU on Feb. 28, 2009.