No. 10 Kentucky secured its most impressive victory of the young season with a 96-58 win over North Dakota on Wednesday night in Lexington, Ky.
The win in the first-ever meeting between the two schools gives Kentucky (2-1) a victory against teams from all 50 states.
Sophomore PJ Washington topped Kentucky with 25 points. The 6-foot-8 power forward made 9 of 13 shots, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range.
Wildcats freshman Tyler Herro added 18 points. He had made only 4 of 17 shots to start his Kentucky career before making 7 of 12 on Wednesday night.
Freshmen Immanuel Quickley and Keldon Johnson added 12 points each and Reid Travis had 11 for Kentucky. Johnson also had 10 rebounds for the first double-double of his career.
As a team, Kentucky made 53.2 percent of its shots. The Wildcats also won the rebounding battle 45-15 and had 15 assists to 13 turnovers.
Conner Avants led North Dakota with 14 points. Filip Rebraca added 13. As a team, the Fighting Hawks shot 39.6 percent and had 20 turnovers versus eight assists.
Kentucky put the game away early by using a 34-12 run to close the first half to turn a 13-12 deficit into a 46-25 halftime advantage.
The Wildcats outscored the Fighting Hawks 50-33 in the second half to account for the final 38-point margin.
The Wildcats were led in scoring in the first half by Washington with 10 points. Herro had nine, Quickley had eight and Johnson had six.
Kentucky returns to action Sunday night at home against VMI. North Dakota hosts Minnesota-Morris on Saturday.
--Field Level Media
North Dakota | Kentucky | |
Conner Avants 14 | Scoring | PJ Washington 25 |
Cortez Seales 3 | Assists | Quade Green 5 |
Filip Rebraca 6 | Rebounds | Keldon Johnson 10 |
Conner Avants 4 | Free Throws Made | Immanuel Quickley 8 |
Filip Rebraca 3 | Steals | Tyler Herro 5 |
Davids Atelbauers 1 | Blocks | EJ Montgomery 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
North Dakota | 58 | 39.6 | 7-19 | 13-18 | 8 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 20 |
Kentucky | 96 | 53.2 | 6-13 | 24-30 | 15 | 40 | 5 | 12 | 13 |