No. 9 Kentucky Blasts Jackson State on Friday
Koby Brea tied a career high with 22 points as No. 9 Kentucky cruised past Jackson State 108-59 on Friday night at Rupp Arena
Brea made eight of 11 from the field, including five of eight from behind the arc, on his way to matching his career best that he set at Dayton against SMU in 2023.
Kentucky (5-0) had five players in double figures in the win. Otega Oweh had 21 points for the Cats, while Jaxson Robinson had 14. Lamont Butler had 11 points and five assists, while Ansley Almonor scored 10.
The Cats had 29 assists on 41 made baskets and had a 43-7 advantage on fast break points. UK had 52 bench points, compared to just 12 for the Tigers.
“Proud of our guys. I thought they did a ton of good things and it was fun. We got to see everything. We got to see a ton of transition on a ton of shots. All kinds of fireworks from all of our guys.”
Kentucky got on the board first on a Robinson three from the corner. However, Jackson State scored the next five points to take a 5-3 lead. It turned out to be the Tigers’ only lead of the game and it lasted just 16 seconds as another Robinson three gave the Cats the lead for good.
The Cats would go on a 15-2 run to lead 18-7. UK hit four of it first five shots from behind the arc to establish the double-digit lead.
Later in the first half, the Cats would assemble another 15-2 run, with this one expanding the lead to 33-14. Ansley Almonor had a pair of threes in the run for the Cats. Almonor has now hit a three in each game this season.
Oweh scored nine straight points for Kentucky as the Cats took a 48-22 lead late in the half. UK would be ahead 54-30 at the half. Oweh led all scorers with 13 points in the first half.
Kentucky opened the second half with a 12-5 run to lead 66-35. That run was fueled by four dunks and two layups. A 10-0 run later in the half expanded the UK lead to 81-42. The Cats would lead by as many as 51 points late in the game.
The Cats return to action on Tuesday, hosting Western Kentucky at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on ESPNU.
