The 23rd-ranked Kentucky Wildcats had 6 players score in double figures as they literally steamrolled past the Wright State Raiders 103-62 on Monday night at Rupp Arena, ruining the head coaching debut for WSU’s Clint Sargent.
Oklahoma transfer Otega Oweh led all scorers with 21 points as he shot 8-of-9 from the floor, a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown, and even nailed both of his free throws. Dayton transfer Koby Brea scored 18 points off the bench, shooting 8-of-9 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. San Diego State transfer Lamont Butler filled up the statsheet with 14 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals; while Drexel transfer Amari Williams had a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds. Ansley Almonor and Andrew Carr, transfers from Fairleigh Dickinson and Wake Forest respectively, each had 11 points.
Wright State was led by Brandon Noel (noll), who finished with 20 points and 8 rebounds. It was Noel’s 12th straight contest in double-figure scoring dating back to last season. Alex Huibregtse (HUE-bricks) ended the evening with 16 points, recording his 10th straight double-digit scoring game since last season as well.Â
Wright State shot poorly all game long, finishing at 35.3 percent from the field overall (24-of-68) and 18.5 percent (5-of-27) from 3-point land.
Kentucky was hitting from all cylinders, shooting 60 percent (39-of-65) of their shots overall and 45.8 percent (11-of-24) on 3-pointers. They also outrebounded Wright State 41-32 and racked up 30 assists while committing only 7 turnovers.
They hit 5 of their first 6 shots from the field to take an early 13-5 lead, with all 5 starters scoring during that run. Wright State would get within six after Drey Carter hit a three, but Kentucky countered with a three from Brea and a layup from Williams before Brea nailed another three-ball and hit a two-pointer in the paint to give UK the 27-11 lead which capped off a 10-0 run.
The Raiders tried holding on and trailed by 13 at 31-18 with a layup from Solomon Callaghan, but Kentucky’s defense flipped the switch and turned it back to sparks, allowing UK to lead 40-22 with 3:14 to go in the first half. After another Wright State basket courtesy of a layup from Andrew Welage, Big Blue Nation got a pair of foul shots from Carr, a layup from Oweh, and a jam from Williams to end the first half on a 6-0 run as Kentucky took the 46-24 lead into the locker room. Kentucky made 18 of 31 (58.1 percent) of their shot attempts in the first half and even shot 4-of-9 (44.4 percent) from behind the arc.
In the second half, Noel knocked down a pair of free throws, but the Wildcats continued dominating as they responded with a 17-2 run – including 14 unanswered points – to lead it 63-28. Mark Pope’s team hit 9 of their first 13 shots in the second half, including 5-of-7 from downtown, to keep their lead growing and were up by as many as 44 at one point.
Up next:
Wright State returns to action on Wednesday, November 6th night in the home opener at the Nutter Center against the Ohio Christian Trailblazers for a 7:00 pm tipoff. Fans can follow the action with LiveStats, watching on ESPN+, or by tuning in to 101.5 HANK FM and ESPN Radio WING 1410 AM with Chris Collins and Jim Brown will have the call.
Wright State stats
- Brandon Noel: 20 points (8/21 FG, 1/8 3-PT FG), 8 rebounds
- Alex Huibregtse: 16 points (6/12 FG)
- Solomon Callaghan: 15 points off the bench (7/9 FG)
23) Kentucky stats
- Otega Oweh: 21 points (8/9 FG), 3 steals
- Koby Brea: 18 points off the bench (4/4 3-PT FG)
- Lamont Butler: 14 points (6/12 FG), 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals
- Amari Williams: 12 points, 13 rebounds
- Andrew Carr and Ansley Almonor: 11 points each
