No. 23 Kentucky Gets Past UCF in Overtime
No. 23 Kentucky outscored Central Florida 19-5 in overtime on its way to a 90-76 win on Wednesday night at Rupp Arena.
Milan Momcilovic led the Cats with 19 points, while freshman Mason Williams had 18. Malachi Moreno had 16 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists, while Alex Wilkins had 12.
Kentucky got on the board first when Zoom Diallo hit a runner in the lane. UCF would tie the game before Alex Wilkins made a pair of free throws to make it 4-2. An Ousmane N’Diaye three gave the Cats an early 7-2 lead.
UCF hit a three, but Momcilovic scored on a back door layup and a three to give UK a 12-5 advantage. A Williams layup stretched the lead to nine but UCF scored the next three to cut the lead to 14-8.
Another Williams bucket gave the Cats an eight-point lead, but the Knights answered to cut the lead to 16-10. A Williams three gave UK a nine-point advantage but the Knights scored five in a row to cut the UK lead to 19-15.
Justin McBride hit a corner three and Brayden Hawthorne added a three of his own, giving Kentucky a 25-15 lead. A Malachi Moreno layup gave UK a 12-point advantage, but UCF scored to cut it to 27-17. The Cats got a free throw from Hawthorne and two from Moreno to lead 30-17.
The teams then traded threes, with UCF making first, then Hawthorne giving Kentucky a 33-20 lead. The Knights then went on a 10-2 run to cut the UK lead to 35-30. After an N’Diaye basket, UCF hit another three to get within four.
Wilkins made a layup but UCF scored the final two points of the half, which ended with Kentucky ahead 39-35.
Early in the second half, Momcilovic hit a three and Wilkins hit a free throw to extend the lead to eight. However, the Knights scored six in a row to get within two, 43-41. A Moreno basket underneath, a Williams three and a Moreno dunk comprised a 7-0 run that gave the Cats a 50-41 lead.
The Knights scored four in a row to get within five, but a Moreno dunk and a Williams three stretched the lead back to 10. After UCF scored, Momcilovic broke free for a fast-break layup and the Cats led 57-47. UCF scored the next seven to get within three.
A Williams free throw made it 58-54 and a McBride three gave UK a seven-point advantage. However, the Knights responded with an 11-2 run to take the lead 65-63 with 3:15 to play.
Kentucky would tie the game on a Mason Williams jumper before UCF got a three-point play to lead 68-65. A Moreno dunk cut the deficit to one with 1:58 remaining. Two Momcilovic free throws gave the Cats a 69-68 lead. However, UCF hit two free throws with 26 seconds left to take a 70-69 lead.
The Cats got a possession and Hawthorne was fouled with nine seconds left. However, he missed both free throws. Moreno got the rebound but had the ball stripped and UCF was fouled. The Knights made one-of-two, meaning the Cats could tie or win at the end of regulation. With time expiring, Wilkins hit a runner to tie the game at 71-71. UCF had a desperation shot at the end of regulation that missed and the game went to overtime.
Momcilovic scored the first five points of overtime before UCF scored to get within three. A Williams bucket in the lane made it 78-73, but the Knights scored again to get within three. A Wilkins three made the lead six with under three minutes to play.
Wilkins hit two free throws and Momcilovic hit a fadeaway jumper to give the Cats an 85-75 and UK would cruise home from there.
Kentucky opens the regular season on Tuesday, hosting Manhattan at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.
